


All the Colors of Light (and a few more)

by Wolfinshipclothing



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe - Freeform, F/M, Gemsong, Gen, Gender Issues, Long-Distance Relationship, One-Sided Steven Universe/Original Female Character, Post!Corruption Steven, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Abilities, Steven Has Horns And Pinkish Skin, Steven's Psychic Powers Are Stronger, Trans Female Character, Underage Drinking, i borrowed the concept from For A Diamond Is A Marveled Thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:53:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28839687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfinshipclothing/pseuds/Wolfinshipclothing
Summary: It has been three weeks since he'd hit the road, when Steven is invited to a party. Once there, he meets a lady that needs a hand.From then on, he is dragged into a chaotic night when he learns three things:One, his powers are still growing;Two, drinking is no fun when you have to drive;And three... there is people out there weirder than him.Why did nobody told him 'being human' was so difficult?
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Steven Universe/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 55





	1. PART 1: The Not-So Perks of Being a Magical Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, i actually write this fic right after SUF ended. It was 50000 words long and took me a month. Now, after that 'fun' year that was 2020, i finally decided to start posting it!
> 
> I'll try my best to post regularly, at the very worst twice at month, but i started working so we'll see what happens. Keep in mind however, I WILL finish this fic (in fact, the fic is already finished, i just have to edit it into something readable).
> 
> With that said, please enjoy!

**PART 1: The Not-So Perks of Being a Magical Child  
**

_"It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it."_ **  
― Dale Carnegie,** "How to Win Friends and Influence People" **  
**

* * *

 _Just try to chill out, man. Everything is going fine_ , Steven Universe told himself. Absolutely nothing was fine, however.

He'd thought that, after saving the galaxy —maybe even the whole Universe— from a swarming alien empire, a simple party would be a walk in the park. Life just loved to prove him wrong.

The party house was expensive, without ever reaching the threshold of fanciness. Steven came to the party little more than an hour ago, but he felt he has been there for days. He'd wandered the five or so rooms, walked up and down the stairs a few times; looking for someone to start a conversation.

People were abundant; the house was about to burst with them. The problem was the usual one —Steven.

When he'd enough of wandering around, he'd settled for the kitchen; it was big enough to fit Steven's car, and it was empty most of the time. People would come, pick up a beer from the icebox or a cup with something bubbly in it and then leave. The spot Steven chose to glue himself to the wall was next to the arc that led into the main hallway. That way, a quick, silent exit was possible.

The cup in his hand was half full of beer and sweating. Just like Steven himself.

Why, in the name of the Universe, had he decided to come?

Well, because he _is_ Steven Universe, and he is incapable of saying _no_ to anything, even a party invitation from a stranger.

'Its not gonna be a big deal', he had convinced himself. 'You can go and have a good time, drink something, have some much needed human interaction. You can do it, Steven!'

If he had a time machine, he'd go back to this afternoon and shake himself by the jacket yelling 'Of course I can't do it, you fool! Don't you know me?'

A couple walked into the kitchen, both men a bit older than him and joined by the hands. Each man picked a bottle of beer and walked back out, staring persistently at Steven as they passed him by.

Steven tried to make like a turtle, tucking his curls inside the tiny pink bean hat. He was feverish and assaulted by palpitations. Did they look at him —I mean did they have a _real_ good look at him? Did the horns poke out from under the hat?

 _No, you idiot. They were staring because you're dressed like the world pinkest snowman,_ Steven reasoned.

It was hard to deny he was unusually covered for an early autumn night. Besides the hat covering his head, he had black gloves concealing his hands, jeans and white sneakers. His usual pink letterman covered a turtleneck shirt —a winter variant of his trademarked Star t-shirt.

Maybe it wasn't the clothes. Maybe they noticed the pink colored patches spread out over his face, making him look like a stained canvas. Out of all the scars of his 'incident', these were the hardest to hide.

Steven leaned further against the wall and closed his eyes to the World. Most of the attendees have gathered at the backyard. The band was about to play; Steven could see them even with his eyes closed and through the thick walls. A hundred and a half auras flickering with excitement, spinning with intoxicated glee.

There was a loud voice on the mic as the band started to properly play. Steven hunched over like he'd been gut-punched, both hands on his ears.

It was as if somebody had grabbed a guitar, a bass, and a set of drums, and have them all replaced with chainsaws. He couldn't make sense of the lyrics, except for the occasional mention of 'death' and 'gore'.

The attack against his ears was his signal to go home. If he was gonna be a wallflower, he could be so listening to his jams at the motel!

He made a move to leave, when a body shoved him back against the wall.

"Hey!" he shouted, but the woman gave him a glance and keep walking. She made her way into the kitchen like a whirlwind, looking everywhere at once. Finally she picked a bottle of who-knows-what from the kitchen island, poured the liquid in a cup and began to anxiously drink. She had a beautiful face, dressed in a fine 'talk to me and I'll kill you' look.

 _Guess she is not a groupie of the band_ , thought Steven.

More people came right away. Two massive humanoids walked at each side of a short haired younger man.

When she saw the guy, the girl tried to play it casual, leaning against the counter, head deep in her phone. The boy wasn't put off by this and initiated talk with her.

It seemed Steven wasn't the only one improperly dressed for the occasion; the guy's jacket alone must have cost more than the whole house —and let's not even mention his watch. It looked like a prop from a James Bond's movie.

The guy's haircut, however, was _scandalous;_ in the way seeing a Shelby Cobra parked next to a Minivan was scandalous. It reminded Steven of that old 'The Beatles' poster his dad has. His goons had the same cut, but they were 8 feet tall and built like a pair of bricks, so Steven didn't feel tempted to compare them to Ringo Star.

Tired of talking to a back, 'Ringo' (the short guy) tiptoed to whisper something in the girl's ear. Steven —who had been watching with mortal and mental eyes alike —felt his stomach churn. The girl's aura was a shrinking, shameful ball of fire. Ringo's aura was a tree with his branches pointing forward. Sharp, metallic, possibly poisonous branches. It was like watching a rabbit trapped by a lion —and the lion's bigger, meaner goons.

An alarm gone off in Steven's brain. He searched for help, but he was the only other person in the room. _And this was none of his business._

Right?

The girl tried an escape maneuver, but one of the goons pushed her hard against the counter, making her drop her phone.

 _Fuck that_ , thought Steven. Once you'd saved a planet, you were responsible for all the little people in it!

He drank the rest of his beer, discarded the cup and slid into the scene, just in time to catch a portion of what Ringo was saying:

"Come on, Sunshine. I am sorry for what I said, but you are just playing hard to get now…"

 _Oh, you are not getting anything today, Freshboy_. Steven cleared his throat. Three pair of angry eyes (and one very confused pair) turned to look at him. It hit Steven right there that he might have not thought this through.

But it was too late to back out now; they were all looking at him like he'd stepped inside an occupied bathroom.

"I am sorry, did you need something?" asked Ringo, his aura rising up in anger.

Steven was at punching distance from him, but he drove those ideas away. Instead he put his best 'let's be friends' smile and said:

"Its OK buddy, I just need a minute with my friend here."

Steven gravitated to the girl. She was infinitely confused. "Hey you! I-I thought I saw you walk in. How are you doing? It's been a while."

An imaginary fist hit Steven's inner self. _'How are you doing'? Why don't you ask her ''how's the weather'? Can't you make small talk, you weirdo?_

Fortunately, the girl was sharp —at least compared to Steven—, and her eyes opened as a smile grew on her face.

" _Bennie_! O.M.G!" she shouted, taking a moment to pronounce every letter. "It's so good to-hey let a girl walk would ya?"

She sidewalked around Ringo, and he was so confused by the turn of events he let her.

"I can't believe you are here, it's _so nice_ to see you," the girl went straight for Steven's arms.

 _Smart_ ; that'll make the whole thing seems legit. Steven patted her back and it felt like a drop of water in the desert. It was awkward to say but he'd been touch-starved for days.

Ringo, not wanting to be ignored, stepped between them. "Excuse me, do you know this clown?" he asked to the girl.

"Sure thing! He is… _Bennie_ , my best friend from high school," said the girl.

"Oh yeah?" said Ringo, sharply. "I thought you said you weren't from around here."

The girl clung to Steven, hooking her arm around his shoulder. He held her by the waist.

"That's right!" Steven rushed to say. "I just, eh, came here by accident. I'm on a road trip. I came to this party by chance and uh… here she is! What are the odds, right?"

Steven and the girl did a depressed clown's impression of laughter. Ringo was unamused, while his goons were mostly uninterested.

"So, _Ben_ ," said the girl, "you, uh, you gotta tell me everything about schoolandyourgrandma and, you know, _stuff_."

"Oh, the _stuff_!" Steven repeated. "Yeah, I've to tell you everything about… stuff. I was going to a place right now, do you-"

" _I do_. Let's go."

They made a move, hand in hand, toward the exit, but were stopped by and unstoppable object. One of Ringo's goons had stepped in front of them, blocking one exit. The other one moved to their left, blocking the way to the other one.

"Woah, lets calm down lover-boy. I don't know who you think you are," said Ringo. He was smiling, but his eyes flashed with burning rage. "But this is my house, and this is my party."

Steven looked at all directions for a way to go —one that would not require any violence, by the way. Ringo took Steven's silence as fear and grabbed him by the neck of his jacket.

"And that girl is _mine_. So why don't… you…" Ringo's voice shrank until it vanished.

Maybe it was because the light was hitting Steven different now, or because he was closer to the other man now, but it was only now that Ringo noticed the patches of pink on Steven's face.

Ringo took his hand off him like if he had been burned. "Ugh, gross!" He rubbed his hand over his jeans, as if trying to clean off the dirt. He was wearing an expression of utter disgust Steven will never forget.

"Fuck it. Let the freak take the other freak. He'd already touched her," said Ringo to his goons. "Besides, there are a lot of girls around. _Normal_ girls," he added to the girl and left the kitchen, his goons silently following him.

Once Ringo left, the pair breathed out. Steven's blood could have burn the grass, and the girl wasn't doing much better. Her aura showed distress, anger and shame. Her hand was still hooked onto Steven's.

It took her a moment, but her breath finally calm down. When she did so, she offered Steven a weak smile, one he couldn't resist but return.

"Let's get out of this hole," she said.

Steven agreed; he'd have too many emotions for one party. They stepped into the receiving hall, and who was there if not Ringo himself, talking to another girl. She was as bored as humanly possible, but Ringo's goons were blocking her way out.

 _Looks like he didn't waste any time_ , thought Steven.

The only other exit was through the backyard, and since neither he nor the girl felt like having their ears penetrated by death metal, they choose the hall. They dashed past beside Ringo so fast neither he nor his goons noticed them.

The girl walked outside and spread her arms at the chill night. The street was filled with parking cars in every direction. Steven had found a nice spot early on, right across the street. His beloved Dondai was still there.

When he was about to cross the doorway he heard Ringo's nasal, insufferable laugh. Against all better judgment, Steven peeped into his aura. Hunger, rage, and a hint of violent desire. He was doing the exact same thing with that new girl that he did before, and why wouldn't he? It was easy for him; as long as he'd his goons, he could bully anyone around.

Steven clenched his knuckles white. This wasn't **right.** And Steven **could** do something; teach him a lesson. **Stop him for good.** The light in his gem began to grow, reaching every corner of his body. He was close to do something stupid when a desperate voice brought him back.

"What are you doing? Let's go!" said the girl. She'd stopped walking at the front yard, waiting for him.

Steven did the breathing exercises he knew. The light receded back into its place, hidden inside Steven's gem. He gave one last look inside before stepping into the cold night, chasing the girl he'd just helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand here we go.
> 
> I need to explain something, this fic is gonna come into three Parts. Dont worry, this isn't a 300 thousand words epic novel (At best, its gonna be 80-90 k words) The reason i separated it into Partsis because, althought they all make the enterity of the fic, each Part have its own theme and tone.
> 
> (ahem! and also because i want to see if you guys like Part 1 before posting the second and third, ahem!)
> 
> Anyway, i hope you guys enjoy reading this fic as much as i enjoyed (and suffered) writing it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya folks! Coming here with chapter two. We learn a bit more about our Mistery Girl here... just not in the way you would've expected.
> 
> I will not elaborate. Read the chapter and find out!

The Dondai's lights shined over the road sign:

YOU ARE LEAVING JACOBSTOWN

FRIENDLIEST CITY ON THE STATE

COME BACK SOON!

They drove pass the sign in a flash, but the message stuck with Steven. Come on… 'friendliest city on the state'? Well, that _can't_ be true, can it? Even if you visited every city on the state, how would you measure which one's the friendliest? And the people of Jacobstown weren't excessively friendly, in Steven's opinion.

Also, why 'Jacobstown'? Sure, it's as good a name as anything else, but it's too vague. Who was Jacob, and what did he do they put his name to a city? If you are naming a city, you should pick one that best represents what the city has to offer. Beach City came to his mind, but also other cities Steven caught a glance of on maps. Fairview, Oceanside, Goodsprings, Rockville, to mention a few. Those are good descriptive names that tell the traveler what he should expect should they choose to drop by.

But _Jacobstown_? That doesn't tell you anything.

This is the fascinating topic Steven was pondering to not think about the girl occupying the passenger seat of his car. They haven't shared a word since they left the party; their silence had broken only when Steven asked her to fasten her seatbelt.

_Maybe she's still on shock_ , he thought. Or maybe… maybe it was him. Ringo saw Steven's face, it was impossible she hasn't. He took a look in the rear mirror. Disgust, pain, anger. Hate. An addictive cocktail of terrible emotions; he was feeling them now as clearly as the day he got corrupted.

He'd tried to put it behind himself, but he still carried a few scars. The horns on each side of his head —strategically hidden under the bean hat— and the claws in hands and feet were bad enough. But the face was the worst offender. A long lake of pinkish skin around his right eye, with smaller ponds here and there, going all the way down to his chest and below. The smallest ones could pass as freckles, but the biggest patches on the face couldn't be hid. Not without wearing a mask (and his therapist had been crystal clear about that).

He caught the girl looking at him. Her aura was bubbling and backing away (distrust). That was it then, right? It was him, it always was.

Steven tried not to take it personal. He decided to ask the girl where she wanted to be dropped, go back to his motel and forget about the whole night.

Said plan was swiftly broken when the girl indelicately screamed:

"OHMYGODIMINASTRANGERSCAR!"

The yell ringed in Steven's ears as he swerved the wheel. The Dondai broke free of the concrete and rode over the mushy soil, its tires ripping out grass and large lumps of dirt. Both passenger and driver were screaming their lungs out.

Then something clicked in Steven's mind, reminding him that 'Hey, you are in a car… _a car with brakes!'_ His foot stomped on the pedal. The tires screeched and whined as the car lost all of its momentum, just two seconds shy of crashing against a billboard.

A quick look confirmed Steven they were both alright. Thank the Stars for the seatbelts! The board above showed a picture of a smiley truck towing a rather bummed minivan. 'We don't charge and arm and a leg. We want _tows_!' Any other day Steven would have laughed at it, but he was too busy holding a hand into his chest to prevent his heart from bursting through.

"Are you out of your _fucking_ mind?!" the girl shoved a hand into Steven's chest, not easing his palpitations. "Why the hell did you do that? You are gonna get us killed! What's wrong with you?"

"Me? W-well what's wrong with you?" said Steven, more on the defensive than he'd wanted. "Why did you yelled into my ear?"

"Well _, excuse me_ , princes if I panicked because I jumped inside a stranger's car." The girl went silent about this sudden realization. "Ohmygod… You could have been a serial killer or something. Real life 'Silence of the Lambs' shit. _Why_ did I do that? And why didn't _you_ say anything?"

"I don't know." Steven showed his empty hands. "You were in such a hurry to leave I just rolled with it."

The girl went quiet by his response and the anxiety started to peak in Steven's brain. She didn't actually ask him for help. _He'd_ jumped to it. Well, they say old habits die hard.

"Look I am sorry for almost crashing. And for driving you out without asking. And for getting in your business," said Steven with increasing shame. "It just looked like you needed a hand."

"I did," she said. She had big, almond eyes, hardened with a furious expression. "Butifyousayanythingilldenyit, got it?"

"Uh, got it," said Steven, who only got half of all that.

The air inside the Dondai became a tad less oppressive. The girl let out a long breath; she probably has been as stressed as Steven, if not more.

"That is one way of breaking the ice, uh?" said Steven.

"You bet. Forget all about 'hey, how are you doing?' No, just try to kill me from the get-go," the girl said. "Too bad you'd to leave the party early," she mumbled, which was as much Steven was getting to a 'sorry for the bother'.

"Oh no, don't even worry about that. I was about to leave anyway. It wasn't really my style."

"Really?"

The girl hummed. Her head went down and up, like a barcode scanner with a can. Steven had to look away; she'd a strong, almost feline stare.

He offered to give her a ride home or at least the closest location possible. _She can't live that far away from the were the party was_ , he reasoned. The girl agreed, confirming his conclusion.

"But I think we might have to push your car. Pretty sure you, I mean, _we_ landed in a sinkhole," she said.

Come to think of it, the car was feeling more tilted than usual. Steven tried to drive in reverse. The right back tire had no traction. It could be a sinkhole, or just an uneven part of the ground.

The girl took of his seatbelt, but Steven stopped her before she exit the vehicle.

"Don't worry, I got this," he'd said.

There was a moment of silence, in which Steven considered if maybe this wasn't an improper use of his powers.

_It's just a minute. Nothing bad will happen_ , he thought. Also, he couldn't make a girl push a car, over the dirt, in the dark of the night. His dad didn't raise a jerk.

Holding firmly onto the wheel, Steven focused on the Dondai. Then he imagined himself in front of the car, _pushing_ it with all his might. The light of his skin started to spread to his limbs as his aura grew in size…

The car shook with the force of the telepathic push. Steven put reverse and put the pedal to the metal.

The car broke free of the sinkhole in one soft motion and, making use of the leftover push, Steven drove backwards into the route, made some quick shift changes and speeded the car in their former direction.

This all took him less than twenty seconds. The girl shifted between gaping at the road and at Steven.

"What can I say? I'm a master driver," he said.

* * *

Once they left the initial awkwardness behind, and with the ice now broken —by the strength of a car going off road—, the girl turned out to be a good talk. Too good, in fact, she did most of the talk. Most of it about the party.

The story was that Ringo had approached her as soon as she went in. She wasn't very into him, but she was into partying and dancing and, sans the old-fashioned haircut, Ringo didn't look too bad. Then he tried to make a move too fast and she let him down. Ringo didn't took it well and say some mean words to her —words she didn't share and Steven didn't ask about. She left him, but he followed her to the kitchen, this time with his two goons at each side. The rest was history.

The road went through a calm and straight plain, with the shadows of a forest painted at their far left; and so Steven took time to inspect the girl. She was taller than him and very thin, although she looked wider because of the long yellow duffle coat she had on. Her hair was mostly straight but it rebelled into waves near the end. She had highlights on her roots of a color Steven could only describe as 'neon blue' _. When they reach the ends, it'll look like her hair is the ocean_ , Steven mused. Her long earrings were the same shade of blue and they shined over her bronze skin.

"What a jerk," Steven said, cutting the girl's rambling. "I mean, seriously. Learn to take a no for an answer, Ringo."

"Iknowright? I knew I'd to bring my taser, I would fry his barbershop gorillas in a second," she mumbled, puffing her lips. Steven made a mental note that she was both the owner of a weapon, _and_ willing to use it. "I don't know what the problem is with some dudes," she added.

A smile grew in Steven's face. "Maybe he was mad because he forgot where he parked his _yellow submarine_."

Steven felt all too proud of that joke. He lost his cool when the girl grimaced at him. _Not a 'The Beatles' fan, then._

A few seconds later, however, he heard her snicker.

"See? I knew it was funny."

"It's not that, its just…" she snorted and covered her mouth with her hand. "'Achy Breaky Heart'?"

_Oh, that._ Steven sank into his seat. He had been unaware of the music, but now she'd mentioned it he couldn't ignore Billy Ray's voice coming from the stereo.

"Oh no, don't get me wrong, I like Country alright. You just didn't give me Country fan vibes, that's all," the girl said, as she tried to drown her snorting. "Although it does make sense. Now I know you weren't in the party for the jams."

"Now that's were you are deadly wrong, miss. I was actually there because the band invited me."

"No kidding?" she said, with some gleaming in her voice.

"Totally!" Steven bit his lip. "Actually, it was just the bassist that invited me. He sold me this mix tape."

"OK, now you are just pulling my leg."

"No, but I take offense in your disbelief," Steven faked an offended tone. "Seriously though, what happened is that I am staying in a motel close by. 'Sleep-tight Motel'? It's next to the road a few miles down." The girl said nothing. "Anyway," Steven proceeded, "I was buying some food in the gas station shop across the motel when I saw some tapes on discount and I thought, 'hey, if you're gonna hit the long road, you're gonna need some jams right?"

"A reasonable thought."

"Thanks! So, I was paying for everything when the clerk sees the tapes and start making small talk with me. Really nice guy. He had this giant spiky mohawk and a cool band t-shirt. I asked him about it and he told me it was from his band, which was playing at a party tonight-"

"OK, alright, I get the picture," said the girl. "But seriously, didn't you imagine they would suck? I mean, with a name like 'Orgasm Armageddon', I wouldn't had set my expectations too high."

"I try not to be judgmental of others people's band names. Besides, how could I've known it was a death metal band?"

"Are you for real?" the girl scoffed. "It's in the name, man! ALL metal bands names are the same. You just have to, like, pick two or more things you think are cool, or 'edgy'. Then you smash them together, and, _boom_! Instant band."

"It's that how it is?"

"Totally! Something like…'Virgin Stealer' or 'Monster Orgy', I don't know," she said, without much of a thought.

"Oh! You mean something like, uhm…"

Steven made a list of things he considered 'cool'. A silly laughter grew in his chest even before letting the name out.

"'Death Valley Laser Bear'?"

A thunderous laugh, muffled by the hand covering it, filled the Dondai. "Now that's just-that's just perfect!" said the girl, "O-or 'Cannibal Gandalf'"

"'Undercover Clown Party'."

"'Michigan Mariachi Murderer!'"

Steven hesitated. "'Pink Space Overlord'"

The girl let out an astounded whistle. "That's a good one. Not really a death metal band name, thought. It has more of an 80's glam rock vibe."

"Now _that_ is more my jam. Which is why I thought about it. No other reason."

Steven, in a futile effort to not appear suspicious, chose to check his mirrors. All of them. Not that it really mattered; he wasn't picking any distrust from the girl. In fact, her aura was growing with interest.

"Rea-lly," she extended the word like there was no tomorrow. "Then how come, out of all things in the world, you are making me listen to _this_!"

She pointed at the stereo as if it was a wild animal ready to bite.

"If you want to grow as a person, you have to try new things, right? Besides, four tapes for $0,99 cents? I recognize a good offer when I see it," Steven said humbly. "I also got 'The best of Tchaikovsky', the soundtrack from 'The Nightmare before Christmas' and the audio book of 'The Lord of the Flies' narrated by Morgan Freeman."

The girl grabbed the chest of her long shirt, as if assaulted by a heart attack. "What. The. Hell!" she shouted. "No wonder the clerk invited you to the show! It was his atonement for selling you these trash tapes."

Her hand went to her mouth again, and Steven suspected it had less to do with manners and all to do with some self-consciousness on her part. He knew a thing or two about being reserved, so he didn't mention it.

"What I take from this is you're not from around here," said the girl. "Which I already knew, since I have been around these parts for two weeks now and I have _never_ seen a pink snowman before."

"I just dress as a pink snowman for parties, just so you know," Steven retorted. "But no, I'm actually from Delmarva. In fact, it was the truth I'm on a road trip."

"Ahh, so you is a wanderer. And 'ere I'd you pegged for a townie, while you are a real hard boiled cowboy," she said, in what some folks would describe as, a 'cowboy accent'.

Steven blushed. "Yep, that's me. Just a wanderer on the road, with nothing to slow me down," he said. Stars, what he wouldn't give to have a hat to tip! "Nothing to do all day but to drive over yonder, with the sun warming my car roof and my discount mix tape blasting off."

"And saving damsels in distress from nasty evildoers. Or is that not an usual occurrence?"

"Well, no," he confessed. "I mean, helping people is nice. More than nice. But it's not what I am up to."

_Not anymore._

The girl dropped a single _Ah._ It felt heavier than a truckload of Jaspers.

"Well, I'm… sorry if I interrupted your business of the night."

"What? Come on, I didn't mean it-"

The retort grew in Steven's chest, but it was quickly swallowed. The wave of embarrassment flowing from her was overwhelming.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said. "Everything happened very fast, and I just acted. And its fine!" he went on to say. "I'm glad I was there to help you. Damn, I'm glad you are here now! Were it not for you, I would be in my motel room, eating a microwave burrito and feeling all bummed out for being weirdo that can't make talk in a party. You really cheered my night up. It's been a while since I have a talk this nice with someone new."

The words flowed out of him, not like water from a fountain, but like a dam that had broken and was about to flood the little town in its shadow. Probably one with a nondescriptive name, like Jonesville or Hectorsland.

Everything Steven said was the truth, but he'd have it reserved for his therapist. He hasn't meant to drop a mountain of emotional bricks over a stranger! A girl who had no interest in knowing his struggles with dealing with people. Or that she'd brightened his night.

A warm feeling melted his fears. The girl's aura had grow in size and turned around itself like a lasso—an emotional self-hug.

"You got some real pizzazz under your bean hat, Mister." The girl put a hand over her mouth. "And you know… 'ahem!' Thanksforhelpingme, 'ahem!'"

She gave one single dry cough and went quiet. Steven felt the last of his reservations banishing.

"You are, 'ahem!' Welcome," he said.

She giggled, and Steven did too.

_Man! I really misinterpreted the whole thing uh? One would have thought that having emotional-psychic powers would make misunderstandings impossible,_ Steven pondered.

"So, uh…" the girl rubbed her hands together, not necessarily because of the cold. "Does my savior have a name? 'Cause I'm guessing it's not 'Bennie."

"Yeah, its not. I don't know where you get the impression it was."

She shrugged. "That's the vibe you were giving me."

"Well, your vibe-o-meter is deadly wrong," Steven took his right hand off the wheel. He doubted just a second before extending it. "Steven. Steven Universe."

The girl took his hand. _She can't feel your claws, she absolutely can't feel your claws,_ he repeated as a mental mantra.

"Alright then, Steven Universe, who may, or may not be a cowboyslashserialkiller," said the girl in one breath. "We already established my vibe-o-meter blows shit. But what about yours?"

"What do you mean?"

The girl moved in her seat, leaning closer to Steven. "What's my name?"

"What? D-do you want me to guess?"

"Yeah dude, give it a try."

Steven bit his lip. What was he supposed to say? This didn't appear in his 'How to talk to people' book as normal conversation topic. But again, 'Death Metal Bands Names' also wasn't covered on the book.

"But… what if I get it wrong?" he said, trying to hustle out of guessing.

"Dude, we are playing a game, not 'Jeopardy'," she said. "Come on. What's. My. Name?"

She stared at him; her bright almond eyes could have burn a hole into a plank of wood. It reached the point where it hurt to look at her, but it hurt more to try to ignore her.

Steven was ready to throw some common names, have the game over with. But just to give it a try, he paid attention to his mental sight.

He hasn't intended to do anything weird. Stars, he was feeling guilty as charged for using his aura reading to see other folk's feelings —not that he could help it; he had no turn-off switch for that. Sometimes, however, if he wanted a 'clearer reading', he could expand his aura. And as he did so, he found himself leaning towards the girl. Not physically, but _mentally_.

This wasn't a new feeling; Steven had done this when he went inside the Kiki's dreams, or when he changed bodies with Lars a while ago. He was getting inside the girl's mind. Not enough to possess her! But enough invade her mental house and have a look.

A sudden rush of emotions —none of them his own— overwhelmed him. He cut the link swiftly: his aura shrinked back into place and the light receded back inside his gem. Steven leaned heavily against the seat and shook his head. He looked at the girl for any reaction, but if she'd felt something odd, she said nothing. Steven gave thanks for that; almost at the same time he realized she wasn't 'the girl' anymore. In those brief two seconds of connection, he'd gotten the answer he was looking for.

_Of course. She'd been thinking about her own name, so I picked it with barely scratching the surface_ , he thought. The girl was still waiting.

"Uh… could it be Mary? Or Jane?" he ventured.

The girl laughed a bit, lifting Steven's humor. _Oh, who cares?_ _It's just a game, right?_

"Or could it possibly be…" Steven tapped his chin, "Soledad?"

The girl made the human equivalent of a gem glitch.

" _Hijo de puta_ ," she gasped. "How the hell did you know?!"

"I thought you wanted me to guess?"

"Well, yea-ah! But I didn't… I mean, I didn't think you would actually…" Soledad scratched her head, somehow not disturbing her hair's wild shape. "It's not a common name. Do you even know what it means?"

"It has something to do with the sun, right?" Steven guessed.

"Nope. Not at all. Sorry buck, but you need to go back to Spanish 101," she scrutinized Steven's face. "Seriously. How in the world did you do that?"

Steven opened and then closed his mouth. Maybe if he'd time to spare, he could think on an excuse?

_Are you on the square?_

_Are you on the level?_

_Are you ready to swear, right here, right now_

_Before the Devil?_

_Oh, thank the Light_. Soledad hipped and fished her phone from her purse. She had the kind of sleek, cutting-edge technology phone that could drive your car, do your taxes and write you an opera, if you let it. She pressed her finger against the screen. The phone flashed red, then green and then it went BING! Soledad grimaced when she saw the screen.

"Oops, sorry. Its my friend. Do you mind?"

Steven shook his head. Soledad began to chat with whoever was on the other side. Her aura made several spikes, from worried to embarrassed to angry to relieved. Whoever she was with was giving her an earful.

Meanwhile, Steven was giving an earful to himself. Reading Soledad's mind counted as Gross Misuse of Gem Powers on Humans, a severe crime as it was decreed by himself —although he might give himself a pardon, on account of A) It being an accident; and B) Steven having no idea he could do it. Usually he'd to be sleep to mentally connect with someone to this level, and now it has come effortless.

Boy, his therapist was gonna have a field trip with this when (IF) Steven tells her.

"You are there now?" he heard Soledad say. "It's OK if I drop by?"

She looked at Steven with a matching-pieces-together kind of face. "OK, can I text you back? OK, bye Rain."

She hanged the phone and held it in her hands, like a precious Bible.

"Stevendoyouwanttogotoaparty?"

For the second time in the night, the car swerved. Steven stabilized it just in time to prevent the Dondai to be shoved out of the road by a passing BMW.

"You know, I'm starting to think you can only drive in reverse," said Soledad.

"Sorry, sorry!" Steven said. "Uh, did you mention a party?"

"Well it's not party 'party'," she explained. "Look, the woman I was talking with is the owner of the hostel I'm staying at."

"Oh! You didn't tell me that. Are you road tripping too?"

Soledad face was like a steel safe —her aura, however, was bubbly with disgust. "Not exactly, but that's not important. The thing is, there is this secret hangout place we go sometimes to chill out and have some drinks and it's very nice ´cause it's super secret, and it occurred to me you mightwanttocomemaybe?" Her sentence dissolved into pure rambling, but Steven got that last part right.

He dodged all attempts of Soledad to catch his glance. Her aura was spinning with nervousness, but also full of resolve. Steven couldn't look at his own aura, but it probably looked vomit-green.

"But…" he began, trying to come up with something Anything! "Don't you think they might feel a bit… uneasy about _this_?"

He pointed at his whole face. Soledad eyes opened and her aura shrank (shame).

"Nooo," she said nicely. Too nicely. "They are very cool! I mean, they are weird, but cool weird! Notthatyouareweird!" she held her hands in front of her. "I mean, _I am weird_ , so I know they are cool. There is gonna be, like, four people tops. But you really don't need to come if you don't want to. Just… drop me here, and I'll walk."

The panic from the party came back with a vengeance. He didn't want to drop her, and not only because it could be dangerous for a lady to walk alone at night. Steven didn'twant to go, but he also didn't want to _not go._

The whole point of this trip was to meet new people, get in contact with his human side. Be the normal boy he could never be. So far he wasn't doing too great. Now he was getting his second chance in one day, and it felt wrong to let it slip by.

Steven chewed his lip red. He'd reached the horrible conclusion he'd no good excuse to say no.

"I'll go."

Soledad's mood grew like a mountain being raised from the ground. "Really?"

"Y-yeah. YES," Steven repeated, more convinced. "It could be fun. It _will_ be fun!"

Soledad started clapping her hands happily, but stopped when she caught what she was doing.

"Alright then, _Stevie the kid_ ," she said, "take the next turn to your left."

Steven did as instructed, taking a route into the woods. Not long after, they passed another road sign.

WELCOME TO DEATH RIVER!

A PLACE SO GREAT YOU'LL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE!

Steven swallowed a rock for spit. Suddenly, Jacobstown didn't sound so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta dah!
> 
> This was a fun chapter to write. I'd have it in my head clearly from day one. I hoped to show how Steven have grown as a person, but is still struggling. And he still is the same old 'wise beyond your eyes', 'make friends with everyone' sap.
> 
> The best part was to write how Steven's Aura Reading works and how it affects the plot. Because now Steven can see how people feel around him, but this doesn't mean he can read people like a map. His perceptions are still tinted by his own thoughts and feelings, and getting to write that was extremely funny to me. 
> 
> So i think thats it... Please, do tell me your impressions on Steven's new powers, the Mistery Girl, the writing, the everything! Your comments give me life.
> 
> See yo guys next week!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ´Sup folks! For those of you that have been reading this and leaving kudos, thanks a lot! You might not believe me, bt that actually helps me keep going.
> 
> This chapter, and the one after this, will have more Steven's introspection (plus more Steven and Soledad moments ;) )
> 
> Anyway, here we go then! Enjoy!

The Dondai rode deeper into the woods; rows of yellow oaks and evergreen pines stood tall at each side of the narrow route. Eye-like deformities carved in their stumps gave them the look of silent sentinels.

"There're ghost in this forest," said Soledad, as she stared at the window. "Orsothelocalssay, I don't know." She quickly reached for her phone and focus all her attention on it.

But Steven wasn't worried about the ghosts —he'd seen weirder stuff without ever leaving Beach City. Soledad hasn't pushed him from answers about the mind-reading incident, but Steven couldn't stop thinking about it.

One of the last conversations he'd have with his therapist before he 'embarked' on this trip came to him. The topic was Steven's increasing powers.

" _So, you are getting new abilities," Dr.A said. "I don't see the issue with this."_

" _It has all kind of issues!" Steven replied. "Why are they growing now? I thought I'd finally reached my roof. A-and how come I can see gems and humans' auras? I didn't even know human had those," he added weakly._

" _You were always sensitive to other folk's emotions, weren't you? This seems like a natural development. Being a human-gem hybrid allows you to experience both perspectives. A man of two worlds. It would make sense it works the same with this new power."_

_Steven dodged her gaze. Dr. A's aura was warm and unprejudiced._

" _But it's too… personal. I don't want to be peeping at everyone's emotions. It's too much."_

" _Same as you didn't want any of your other powers, but you learnt to control them. Even those which are too much."_

_Dr. A made a pause, letting the implications sink in. She knew everything about the ugly business with Jasper. She knew most of what was inside Steven's head these days. She'd earned his trust in all those months of therapy._

" _What I am saying," she proceeded, "is that you can´t stop your powers from growing, not more than anyone can control how tall they'll grow to be," she leaned against her couch, looking intensively at Steven. "We can't change what we are, but we can decide who we are."_

" _And please, don't let this prevent you from making friends on your trip," she added. "You are a good boy, Steven. We both know this."_

Steven's stomach churned. He wasn't so sure about that. But Dr. A. had taught him to not see the world in 'black and white'. Even if he'd abused his powers, the fact that he was smart enough to know it was proof he was not a monster.

Right? Right.

The deeper they got into the woods, the more holes and crack the road had. The suspension whined with every new impact. There was no sign of civilization at all, and Steven started to fear there might a serial killer inside the car and it wasn't him.

"Really quiet, this road," said Steven, eyeing his companion. "And abandoned. Are we even close yet?"

Soledad looked up from her phone. A flashing panic took over her.

"Oh shit! It's the next exit! Right here!"

Steven steered the wheel. The Dondai jumped into the gravel road with a bump. This new road was more stable, and it lead them right into the heart of the forest —not easing Steven's fears at all. Five minutes later, they reached a clearing.

"Yes! We found it!" cheered Soledad.

"This is it?"

"This is it."

'It' in this case was a man-made glade the size of a whole block or more. The soil was loose and there were tree stumps here and there, signaling human work not long ago.

"Alright, just park the car right behind the food truck," said Soledad.

"What food truck?"

"That one over there."

Steven focused his vision. " _That's_ a food truck?" he asked.

"Loosely speaking," she said with a chuckle. Steven did as told

From behind, the 'food truck' gave the impression of a tin can with Christmas' lights hanging from it. It stood on top of four different piles of bricks. There has to be someone else around, because a big motorcycle was parked behind it.

Soledad opened the door as soon as the car stopped. Steven, anxious to stretch his legs, followed through.

The first impression he got was 'This is a junkyard'. The _second_ impression he got was 'this is a _junk-camp'._

Multiple lines of benches stretched in formation, surrounding a small cemented area with a rock circle; a fire pit —recently used, judging by the ash covered logs. There were a few games here and there, like the ones you would find in a park —but not like those at all. These games were covered in dirt, yes, but they were brand new. No kid has ever used them, not for long anyway. There were also some games not made for children. Pool tables, pinball machines and the like, plus a small basketball court at the far left.

A series of lampposts surrounded the clearing, but they were all turned off. Instead, a complicated aluminum cobweb spread out above them. Dozens, hundreds of Christmas lights, incessantly flickering with new colors each time, hung over them, tied up around the lampposts and the trees and the games. They were all connected to the 'truck'. Or rather, the generator that was connected to it. The machine was humming and buzzing as its wheel spun like crazy.

Far beyond this small puddle of light, the clearing keep on and Steven thought he could see the silhouettes of cabins at the distance.

 _What the heck?_ Thought Steven, and then he voiced: "What the heck?"

Soledad grumbled. "I know right? They really nailed that 'Crystal Lake' feeling."

"What is this place?"

"This," Soledad made an arc with her arm, "is 'Death River Camping Site'. Or it was supposed to be before the funds mysteriously banished."

"Banished?"

"And re-materialized in the shape of the mayor's new mansion."

" _Ah_ ," said Steven. Well, not every mayor could be Mayor Nanefua.

"Yep. Or at least that's what Rain says happened," Soledad made the face of someone who was looking at an ugly painting. "I know it's not Paris, but the locals _love_ this place."

Steven was about to ask about said locals, when a voice was heard:

"It's that you Sol?"

The owner of the voice was a woman and she was stepping out of the 'truck'. Soledad sprinted towards her and crashed on her arms. They shared a warm reunion, with the woman asking Soledad if she was hurt, if anything else had happened. Soledad reassured her that she was alright.

"I just feel like an idiot," said Soledad, so soft it was hard to hear over the humming generator. "I… ishouldnthavegothere. You were right, Rain."

The woman (Rain) lifted her hands in defeat. "Forget it, I don't want to fight anymore," she said. "The important thing is you are here, and you are whole and not butchered."

"Heh, yeah. Thanks to Steven over here."

Rain laid her eyes on Steven. Then she straightened like a soldier in formation. Steven mimicked her action in harmonious distrust.

"He's my knight in shining armor I told you about," said Soledad. "Or cowboy in shining armor? Idontknow, but never mind! He helped me get away from that asshole."

"And I was thinking," Soledad added, "that we could repay him by inviting him dinner, and some drinks and… and… _Youknowwhatimeanright_?"

There was a moment of ridiculous silence as Steven and Rain measured wills. It was too dark to see her features, and yet her eyes were shining in the shadows. They were black as the night, and her gaze felt like an x-ray into Steven's soul.

Could she see him? I mean, _really_ see his face? That must be it. Her aura was spiking with mistrust. It was also bigger than other people's auras, which confused him greatly. Maybe… no. Gems and Humans' auras looked very different. Not every weird person Steven met on the road had to be a secret gem. Some people just didn't like him.

Lots of people, actually. But Steven tried to not take it personal.

"You know, I don't want to bother. So I could leave if you-"

"No!"shouted Soledad and turned red. Then she added, in a relaxed tone. "I mean, it's not a bother at all. Right Rain?"

All eyes felt on Rain. She looked back at the 'truck', then at Soledad, like she was trying to decide if grabbing Soledad away from Steven or seeking refuge inside the 'truck' —or both. After a few seconds, her aura shrinked and settled down.

"Yeah, alright," she said in utter defeat.

Soledad fist pumped the air, and grabbed Steven by the arm, ready to guide him around. Rain jumped in front of them.

"BUT he'll have to wait. We've got work to do."

" _Work_?" said Soledad, with the tone of someone who had just learnt a new word. "But I thought, you said… I thought we were going to hang out."

"We will; once we're done with the work. I was in the middle of telling you when you _hang me_ ," said Rain. Soledad hissed. "Me and Peeps are cooking the meals for tomorrow, and _you_ ," Rain lifted a finger towards Soledad, "need to patch up my generator."

"Berta? What's the matter with her?"

Shadows danced around them, throwing Steven's heart in a chase. The Christmas lights flickered indiscriminately. CLANK! Sparks flied everywhere around the generator, turning all lights off. They went back on immediately.

"THAT," Rain rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "It's been like that the whole evening. It's giving me a migraine, I swear," she mumbled. "You need to fix it before it fries up my fridge, because if that happens Soledad, I swear to God you are sleeping outside."

Soledad made several protests of the likes of 'don't', 'why', 'just' and 'but'. Finally she extended her arms into the air. And when no Divine power made itself present, she gave up. " _Fine_."

Rain thanked her, gave Steven one last 'I am watching you' look and disappeared inside the 'food truck'.

"Well, she seems nice," said Steven.

"She is not. She is a pain in the ass," Soledad whined. "Listen, I gotta-"

"I-its fine, really" Steven held both hands up. "You go do your job, I'll be around."

Soledad gave him a tired smile, then walked behind the truck and grabbed a large toolbox. She knelt next to the generator —Berta— and began her inspection.

Steven went for a walk, hoping to give her some working space, and to ease his breathing. He practiced the exercise Dr. A taught him. Seven-second inhalation, eleven-second exhalation. He felt like a sea crab in the middle of an all-meat barbeque. He hated being alone. Ironically, Objective 1 of his Master Road Trip was to learn how to be comfortable with himself. Objective 2 was to experience life as a regular, non-magically fated human. So far he was 0 of 2.

Once the tremors stopped and he was feeling more grounded, Steven saw the situation in a different light.

 _At least it's a nice place,_ he thought _. Kinda cool actually. I might enjoy it more if I weren't such an antisocial weirdo._

He looked around. There was Soledad's focused aura next to the generator, Rain's distrustful aura inside the truck, and a third aura, next to Rain's. It never ceased to amuse Steven. Humans' auras were so different from gems'.

Gems' auras were bigger. The stronger the gem, the bigger the aura; the Diamonds, for example, had auras several miles wide. But they were also static; cowls of lights surrounding the gem physical body and played a tune. Every gem had a different song, even amongst equal types of gems, and the tune of the song changes in tune with the gem's emotions. A meeting of gems was like an rock opera.

Humans have smaller auras, but theirs are so dynamic! Cowls of fire that shifted, grew, shrinked, spun and weaved. And just like with the Gemsong, Steven didn't have to guess what feeling each different state of aura represented. He just knew.

None of the people around were paying him any mind. _Well_ , since he has been left to himself, he could do a bit of tourism. He hasn't taken any good photo since he left Shenandoah a while back and he still has a long way to Florida.

He wandered around for a while, stopping only to take pictures with his phone. The lights around the trees, the pinball machines; he even got bold and jumped on top of the climbing bars —by a subtle use of his levitation—, to get the whole clearing in frame.

His hand stopped over the button. The sheer beauty of the place left him speechless. It just hit Steven what was happening there. This camp had been left abandoned, but it have been taken over and remade into something new. Something sparkly and alive.

The sudden glee made a sharp turn into sourness. Once again he found himself thinking of Beach City. The gems, his dad. Connie… Her face on their last meeting in New York was fresh in Steven's mind. She'd been so happy about him making this trip. Everyone at home was. If only they knew…

 _That's it. That's enough_ , he decided. He'll apologize to Soledad and then leave. No discussion. There was no point in being there if he was gonna be a wet noodle.

Steven dropped from the bars and hit the ground with a thud. He was about to take his leave when he walked by the 'truck'. The thing looked more monstrous from this side. The hood had been removed, exposing the rusted engine to the elements. Several metal plates welded together made the exterior, which was beyond any bodywork and painting. Just looking at it could give you tetanus.

Alright, Steven _had_ to take a picture of that. Connie would loose it when she sees it. 'That truck can't possibly be regulated!' he could hear her saying, with her usual cute laugh. If he couldn't be happy, at least he could've a good time between the low periods.

Steven positioned himself down, so he could take the whole… _wholeness_ of the thing. CLICK.

"You still have both ears on you?"

The phone slid out of his hands like a butter bar possessed by a ghost. Steven caught it one inch away from touching solid ground. That was close! He has all his photos in there.

The voice spoke again. It was Rain's.

"Steven? Are you there?"

Steven really, _really_ didn't want to 'be there'. But he was; that's what existing meant. He gaited in front of the truck's window and was assaulted by a delicious smell of caramelized onions and spices.

The inside of the truck was nothing like the outside. It was pristine clean, all white walls and silver sinks. It was bigger too… or well; it _felt_ bigger, compared to the outside. Almost like a restaurant's kitchen.

Rain stood in front of a griddle stove, cooking something that made Steven's mouth and eyes water. He could see her clearly now. She'd to be in her early thirties and was wearing one of those 'Kiss the cook' aprons Steven had only ever seen in movies. Her hair was shaved on both sides, and what little hair she did have was tied up into a bun. Steven saw her deep brown eyes, still as piercing as before.

Oh, and she'd tattoos. Eyes, all of them. Big, small, wide, round, tons of eyes inked over her naked arms. A wide, blue eye-like stone hang from her neck. Steven tried to not look at them, and focus instead on the ones on her face.

"Sorry, what was that you were saying?" he said.

"Just asked if you still had both ears on you?"

Steven pulled his bean hat down. "Me? O-of course! Why wouldn't I have two ears? That's, like, the usual amount a normal human has." He doubted for a second. "Unless you are that painter guy with one ear."

Rain gazed at Steven for less than two seconds before looking back at the stove. Longest two seconds of Steven's life.

"I'm just saying ´cause you travelled all the way from Jacobstown with Soledad, so I reckoned your ears might have fallen down."

"Oh… right."

"Don't get me wrong. I love Soledad as if she was my stranded west coast cousin, but she can really talk," said Rain. " _And talk, and talk_."

"Yeah, she is…" Steven tried to think on the right words. "She is _nice_. Have you known her for long?"

"Just two weeks. She's staying at my hostel."

"Oh yeah, she mentioned that! Man, that has to be such a cool job. You meet new people every day, everyone with new interesting stories. It must be awesome."

"A pain in the ass, it´s what it is," Rain huffed. "I inherited the hotel from my mom and chose to turn it into a hostel. I thought inn keeping for hippies and hitchhikers ought to be easy money," she scrapped the stove surface with her spatula. "You can see how great that'd turned out for me. There're not even many customers, just two European backpackers. And Soledad and Peeps, of course."

Rain pointed at the man standing next to the fryer. His black curls danced as he banged his head to whatever jam was coming from his earplugs.

"That's Peeps," said Rain. "He's been a regular at the hostel for a while, so he helps me here now. Yo Peeps! Say hi to Steven."

Peeps took out one earplug and flashed a pearly smile. "'Sup Steven!"

"Hey Peeps. Uh… should the fries be smoking like that?"

Peeps cursed in a language Steven had never heard and threw the half incinerated fries over a plate.

"That man can speak five languages, but he can't precook the fries even to save his life," Rain sighed.

Steven let out a whistle. Learning what little 'Gemling' he knew had been an endless suffering; he couldn't imagine doing it three more times.

"Well, he seems interesting," he said, still not over the topic. "And Soledad too."

"Yeah, that's what she wants people to believe," Rain shook her head slightly. "I meant what I said, I like her. She's a total robot with technology. I have her freeloading at the hostel as long as she fixes the electrical installation," Rain hesitated. "But she likes to act more though than what she is. She's actually very impulsive and green to the world. _I_ told her not to go to that party. Too far away, and she knew no-one there. Not that she would ever listen to me."

Steven felt the need to defend the girl he had just met. "She _is_ fine now," he said.

"She is. Thanks to you."

Rain smiled at him for the first time. And for the first time in the night, Steven didn't wish he'd a hockey mask on.

After a minute or so, Rain turned the stove off. Then she proceeded to pick the filling with the spatula and put it in a tupper. Once she was done she put the lid over it and threw the spatula into the sink.

"I'll just wash that later," she said, weary and with bags under her eyes "Are you staying then? We're eating soon."

"Oh, I don't want to bother," said Steven. "You've been more than nice already."

"It's not a bother. I was gonna cook something for us anyway. You need something to go with the beer." Rain let out a little laugh. "You could do me a favor and absorb some of Sol's babble," she said in a whisper and punctuated it with a wink.

Steven laughed of eagerness. Well, they are gonna cook anyway. And Rain was warmer to him now. And Soledad had been so nice inviting him here. Also Steven was starving.

Yes, the prospect of staying looked brighter every second.

"I would love to," said Steven. "Is there anything I can help with?"

They heard a CLANK, followed by the lights flickering again. An angry voice shouted from outside:

" _Hija de puta! Chinga tu madre, lavadora de porqueria!_ "

Steven winced. Nothing could pierce the language barrier like some old fashioned profanity.

"If you are really into helping, you could make sure your friend doesn't turn into a Christmas tree," said Rain, then she picked the tupper and disappeared inside the kitchen.

Steven found Soledad right where he'd left her. Kind of. She'd both her feet on the generator, holding onto a wrench that was hooked on the machine. She looked like a jockey over a race horse. She was red with rage but the wrench, which seemed to be more stubborn than her, slid from her hands. She plunged to the ground and landed with a THUD.

She was in the process of rubbing her butt when Steven came forward.

"That's one way of ride a horse, _pardner,_ " he said.

Soledad yelped and flipped her body so she was lying on her side, one arm under her head and one over her hip in what, Steven assumed, was a laid back pose.

"HeyStevenwhatsup," she said, face like a hot iron bolt.

"Just checking on you," said Steven. "Looks like 'Berta' here is giving you trouble."

"What? Nooo. Just some… technical difficulties, that's all."

It appeared to be more than that. The machine looked like the generator cousin of Frankenstein. A large turbine had been added to the side of the thing, stitched to the main piece by bolts and, probably, prayers. Steven was no engineer, but he was sure there shouldn't be that many loose cables.

"She looks like a fancy lady," Steven teased. "Did you really build it yourself?"

"Nah, just borrowed a turbine from the junkyard and stitched it up to Rain's busted generator."

"Well, it's still very impressive," he said. "And what seems to be the problem?"

"The turbine is supposed to give it more power," Soledad groaned, as if she'd explained this many times already. "But 'Ol Berta is playing hard to get and the chain isn't spinning."

"D'aww, don't be like that. She's a Dame. I'm sure she just needs a soft touch." Steven laughed. Soledad didn't. "Do you mind if I give it a try?"

"Knock yourself out," she said. "Oh, but you gonna need these."

Soledad stretched her arms, showing her paws-like yellow gloves. Steven grabbed her hands, helping her to her feet and getting the gloves off in the process.

He also took a good look at Soledad. She was taller than what he'd thought; one head taller than him at least. Most of it was leg. Her duffle coat and long shirt were gone and resting on top of a tree branch, leaving her with just a t-shirt. Steven chuckled when he saw Pac-man stamped on her t-shirt.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing."

Soledad covered her chest and folded her arms. Right, self-consciousness. Steven will have to be more careful with his attitude in the future.

"So… what do I need to do?" he asked, trying to get Soledad to relax.

"Oh, uh, just turn the wrench a few times. Four rotations or so should do it."

Alright, that was easy enough. Gloves first though; luckily, it seems Steven had chosen the best day to wear a long sleeved shirt. He gave his back to Soledad and furtively took his jacket and gloves off. He caught a glimpse of pink from his scaly, clawed —monstrous— hands, before hiding them with the yellow gloves.

The bolt itself didn't give him any trouble. He turned it two, three, and four times until it didn't bulge no more.

"Done," he said to an awestruck Soledad. "I mean, I get why you had trouble. It was super stuck."

"Uh-uh," she said smoothly.

"So… should something be happening now?"

Soledad came out of her haze to say that, yes, something _should_ be happening. She diligently inspected the machine, waiting for any reaction. Steven saw a glimpse of furious panic in her face; her aura suddenly spiking with impotence. In an unprompted move, Soledad lifted her foot and gave Ol' Berta a good ol' kick.

BANG! Sparks flied everywhere. Soledad screamed as she felt back. Steven's instincts kicked in and, in a flash of super-speed, moved behind Soledad in time for her to fall in his arms. He asked if she was OK. Her response was some dreamy mumbling. Another BANG and all the lights went off, sinking the clearing in shadows. Immediately after, Rain yelled Soledad's name.

There was a third and final _bang_ , and all the lights went back up. More than that, the Christmas lights shined brighter, all the noises from the pinball machines came clearer and uninterrupted. Even the truck looked better in this new light.

"It… it worked," said Steven.

"It worked?" said Soledad. She was still in Steven's arms. _And both of them noticed it_. He let her go.

"I mean sureitworked. Imma genius after all." She lifted a hand to scratch her nose, smearing oil in her face in the process.

Come to think of it, she was soaked in oil. Steven checked himself and… yep, his jeans and shirt were covered in the black goo. He won't be using these again.

 _Least my jacket is still clean_ , he thought. _This oil can't be good for the organic silk._

The 'truck's' door opened and Rain came out. She tripped a few times as she kept her head up, enthralled with the lights.

"I can't believe it," she said to Soledad. "You actually put your money where your mouth is."

Soledad rubbed her neck, panting it oil-black. "Told ya I could do it."

Steven pecked his head from over Soledad's shoulder. "And I helped," he said.

"And he helped."

"I can tell," said Rain, as she put distance between her and the slimed teens. "Well, we're all done so, whenever you're ready, go into the kitchen to wash yours… _everything_."

She retired back inside the 'truck', leaving the door open this time.

A deep silence felt over the two youngsters. Without any other pressing matter, the initial awkwardness they felt inside the car have came back to haunt them. Soledad looked very different now than how she was at the party; covered in oil stains and in a simple t-shirt, with her hair falling wildly over her shoulders. Steven imagined this is how she usually looked like. It made sense. Everyone dress up for a party.

"So, now that Ol' Berta had been put into place, how 'bout I give you a quick tour before dinner?" said Soledad, with the grace of a rabbit orator with a wolf audience. "I mean, unless you feel you've seen enough."

Steven blushed. Her shyness was… It was something. "You know, I _did_ walk around for a bit. But it could be better with a guide," Steven added quickly when he saw Soledad gloomy expression.

Now she was beaming, her eyes glistening like the sun. They started to walk at an evenly pace.

"I like your shirt, by the way," she said.

"Thanks, it was my dad's. I like your Pac-man T-shirt too."

"Yeah, it's alright. Pac-man's lame tho."

"No way! He is my favorite ghost-busting slice of pizza. Why do you say that?"

" _Oh-ho-oh_. Get ready to be put in place, boy."

They began to circle around the clearing, chatting with ease. And as Soledad explained the mechanic of the Pac-man's ghosts in full detail, her arm gravitated naturally around Steven's shoulders.

Steven's arm followed the same orbit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta dah!
> 
> Funny thing, this chapter was difficult. I'm not sure why... it took me a while to really get the descriptions right.
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying it so far. I know not much is happening plot-wise, but this was never going to be a plot-heavy fic; its mostly an exploration of the characters. Although PART 2 DOES have more plot, but you guys still have to wait. PART 1 still have a few chapters left.
> 
> Anyway, as usual please feel free to comment to say whatever you feel like!
> 
> See ya soon!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Here i am again with another chapter.
> 
> I'm want to thank everybody thats been reading this fic. I know the starts a little slow, but we are close to the ending of part one! Part two is a bit more plot driven, so if that's what you like to get into, you'll get it soon.
> 
> For now, enjoy this chapter!

"Yeah, life was good in Rio. Or at least for me it was. I don't think I ever did anything wrong. So you can imagine my surprise when my dad barges into my room one day and tells me to pack my stuff. He said I was a lazy bum, that I made him look bad… Guess that part was true. I never really cared about business, which is all he cared about. So he put a plane ticket into my hand and sent me here, to attend a boarding school in New York for a year."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. And obviously the school was lame. A bunch of square kids, with square parents, whose only dream in life was to be CEO of some megacorp. But New York… It was amazing! The music and the street art and all the people; it really blew my mind! A-and it's because, in Brazil, I never went anywhere, my dad made sure of that. I would take the car to school, and then back home. I try to escape a few times but it was useless; there was always someone watching over my shoulder. But here? I was out of my dad's sight for the first time in my life. It felt… it was great. So I called him and say I wanted nothing to do with the boarding school or with business. I want to be an artist. Obviously, he took it personal. He said that if I left the school, I might as well be dead to him… So I said, 'fucking fine'. I escaped that day and left the city. I walked and walked and eventually I fainted at Rain's door."

"And here you have me, one year later I am still here. I would have kept going, but I still have, you know, _unfinished_ business in here."

Peeps glanced at Rain, sitting at his left. The woman suppressed a smile and gave him a soft shoulder shove.

Steven was enthralled, both by Peeps' tale, as by the astounding beauty of the man. It looked like a bear had turned human with the full moon, put on the biggest glasses he could find and decided to sit and have a beer. His voice had the roughness of someone who isn't using his birth language, but his diction was fluid with practice. His long curls moved back and forth whenever he laughed.

It's uncertain what prompted Peeps to talk about his life. Steven had asked him a few question about his country —for Steven, Brazil was as much different planet as Homeworld was— and suddenly Peeps was spilling the beans about his life. It made Steven think maybe he didn't have many friends outside Rain and, possibly, Soledad.

It also made him think about what sort of standards Peep's father could have, to think his polyglot son is a 'lazy bum'.

The four of them were sitting in one of the camping tables, under one of the Christmas lights-covered lamppost. After a rigorous wash in the truck, Steven and Soledad had set the table; put on a tripped tablecloth, glasses and plates. Rain and Peeps joined them five minutes later, carrying a tray with sandwiches in pita bread. Steven picked the simplest one, with cheese, ham and lettuce, Soledad ate a similar one with extra onion, Peeps devoured one with extra ham and egg, and Rain slowly ate one with just vegetables. Steven had sort of forgotten about his vegetarianism. Too much in his head to worry about what he was gonna put in his stomach —especially since he'd have ending threw it up.

After his 'incident', his stomach became like a dishwasher, and he couldn't keep any food inside for too long. This lasted for the first few months of therapy, but he was mostly alright now —still, he take notice of ate slowly.

Rain also brought a plate to the brim with the fries Peeps had ruined. These ranged from 'just a bit overcooked' to 'it could be mistaken as coal'. Steven liked his fries well done, so the other three people were fine with him eating them.

"That's rough," said Steven, picking a handful of black fries from the tray. "And you never talked with your dad again?"

"Nope. Never again," Peeps played with the big glasses on his face. "But that's his lost. And you know what? He was right about something; I _was_ a lazy bum back there. I never planned ahead or thought about the future." He drily laughed. His curls swaying back and forth. "Imagine that. I had to leave my country to figure out who I am."

Steven nodded solemnly, but the girls were as bored as possible. Rain had taken to feed leftover crumbs to a flock of birds that gathered at her feet, while Soledad was busy doing something in her phone. She lifted her eyes from it to glance at Peeps.

"You need to stop telling strangers you were a boring kid, man," she said. "It's super sad. It makes you look bad —worse, it makes _us_ look bad."

To this, Peeps raised one hand, and then lowered all fingers but one.

Soledad gasped. "To do that to a lady! The nerve."

"Well forgive me if my mom didn't take me to Paris and Japan and…" Peeps hesitated. "What was that other place again?"

" _Milan_."

"Ah, forgive me. _Milan_ ," Peeps said the last word as if it were a made-up place.

Rain scoffed at their banter. Steven on the other hand was listening attentively.

"Wow, you really went to all those places? You must love to travel," said Steven, like someone who hasn't traveled across the whole galaxy and beyond.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Soledad awkwardly. "Imeanitsnotlikeitwas _my_ choice. My mom's in the food business so she would go everywhere she thought she could open up a factory or exploit a new market. And she always dragged me with her." Soledad scoffed and kept her eyes on her phone. "I don't know why. As soon as we got into the hotel, she would leave to work all day."

She laughed and lifted her gaze to look at Steven. "There was this one time, when she was so distracted, I snuck out of the hotel and …" She snickered like a little kid telling of her shenanigans. "And took a bus!"

Steven nodded wisely. "I get it. Buses are quite an experience for the first-timer."

"It was!"Shouted an amazed Soledad. "It dropped me in some what-its-name countryside-rural-town in the middle of nowhere. I'd to wait two whole hours for another bus and some jerk tried to mug me —but I tasered him good, so it was alright."

Soledad interrupted the tale to take a drink of her beer. Steven did so too out of solidarity. Plus, the fries were really salty.

Steven asked if she was scared. He knew he was terrified all those times he got lost; on the other hand, those times he faced the possibility of lethal danger — _on the other, other hand_ , the same could be said about Soledad.

"It was kinda scary. But it was also cool. I mean, for the first time I didn't have my mom looking over my shoulder, questioning everything I did, judging me, actinglikeiwasadissapointment. It was amazing!"

"Cheers for that," said Peeps and clashed his glass with Soledad's.

"Plus I bought myself a nice pair of boots." She lifted her feet, almost shoving the fur covered boots in Steven's face. "Real Angus leather, what do you think?"

Steven complimented them, if only to stop looking at the gum stuck on the boot sole. He felt swarmed by this feeling of, if not understanding, at least solidarity. Logically, he _knew_ he wasn't the only person in the world with parental issues; he didn't need to look further than his own dad or Connie. But there was something in hearing a bunch of strangers talking about how much their parents messed them up that made Steven's shoulders feel a little bit lighter.

"Enough childhood traumas for the night, guys," said Rain. The flock of bird had started to disperse, now that she was out of bread. But one single crow stayed at her feet. "What about you Steven? Sol said you are a cowboy or something."

And just like that all the weight was dropped over Steven again, like an anvil over a coyote's head.

"I wouldn't say it like that," said Steven, clapping his hands to get the salt out of the gloves. "But I guess I'm kind of wanderer. I'm on a cross-country road. In fact, I was just in New York last week."

With all the attention on him, Steven laid down most of his travel plan. Static ran through his body; he was getting just as excited as the first time he voiced his idea to Connie. The cities he was gonna visit, the tourist attractions he'd swear to immortalize in pictures. The beer had loosened him up and he was rambling at such a speed it would make Soledad jealous. He was halfway into his plan —somewhere in the middle of Nevada— when Rain spoke:

"Wait, so you're really gonna hit _all_ the states?" she said and lifted a finger at the Dondai. " _In_ _that_?"

Steven answered positively. He tried not to take Rain's comment personal. Sure, through a commoner's eyes, the Dondai Supremo looked like a metal box on wheels, but it was like a second home to Steven. Or his main one, actually. Besides, Rain cooked in a rusted tuna can; she'd no moral high ground to stand upon.

"Man, that's crazy," said Soledad. "Notthatyouarecrazy, but… Dude, I came all the way from California, three whole months on the road, and I'm SICK of it."

"Three months?" Steven shouted then lowered his voice. "Sorry but, wow, that's a lot. You must've had a great time."

A brief, asphyxiating silence fell over the table. It was broken by Soledad.

"I wasn't doing tourism, exactly." She grabbed her glass and drank all the beer in one go. "But forget about me! What about you, Mr. Cowboy, what brought you to the Mother Road? You running away from some misdeed? Maybe from some missus you left back home?" Soledad used a sultry tone that was nothing but laughable.

"No, no it's nothing like that. I'm not running from any misdeed." The words felt bitter in Steven's mouth. "I do have a girlfriend, tho."

For those fortunate enough who have never seen anyone choke on their own drink, you must know the sound Soledad made was like a waterfall going suddenly upstream, followed by several long, dry coughs. It was accompanied by the hysterical laughter of Peeps and Rain. Steven felt compassion and patted Soledad's back as the girl sat hunched over, coughing spit and beer over the floor.

"Do you need anything?" he ran circles over the girl's back. "Maybe some water or something to eat?"

"Yeah, give her some fries. That'll finish her off," said Rain and Peeps grumbled a protest, making Rain laugh even more.

Soledad went through another fit of coughing and, once it stopped, she sat upright and cleared her throat. "I'm fine," she said, shaking. "You were telling us about your girlfriend?"

It took a moment for the train of the past conversation to catch up to Steven.

"Oh. Yeah, she is great. We have known each other since… I don't know, a few years, but it felt like forever. She's really smart; not like me, I am like a _rock_." Steven had a good laugh at everyone's confused expense.

When you are a gem, you always have a limitless supply of rock-puns at hand. They just came naturally.

"Anyway she is in cram school; she's gonna get early into college. How cool is that?"

Steven's proceeded to ramble for a while. This was a topic he was comfortable about. He'd an endless list of good things to say about Connie, while his own list was more lackluster.

"She sounds… great." Soledad's voice lacked its natural momentum. Steven attributed it to the beer. "I've got to ask tho, why isn't she here with you?" she asked, trying to pretend it wasn't important. "I mean, if I had a boyfriend, I would go where he is going –especially if he's road tripping across the country all alone-"

" _Soledad_ ," said Rain, voice like a brick falling over concrete. "Cut it out, won't you?

Steven recoiled involuntarily. Rain didn't yell, but her voice felt as if she had. Silence felt over them all —except the crow, which was now sitting over the table, pick-pocketing fries like nobody's business. Soledad was deep red.

"I-I'm sorry," she said to Steven, "Ididntmeantoimply-"

"No, no, its fine. I guess it's a reasonable question," said Steven, although they were steeping into muddy territory. "She is fine with me doing this. She knew I needed some time for myself. Not because of her! And it's not my family's fault either. In any case they've been nothing but supportive."

Steven's voice lost volume until it banished. Frankly, he'd considered the idea of inviting Connie along a thousand times, but every time he tried to do it, he just couldn't.

Now he was starting to regret it. Ever since Connie visited him in New York, he's been falling into this spiral. Everyone was so happy for him for making this trip, but he felt lonelier than ever. He knew he should open up about this with anyone at home, but so far, only Dr. A. was aware of his feelings.

"I guess it's kind of what Peeps said," Steven mumbled, more talking to himself than anyone else. "I wanted to find myself, and I'd to left my home to do it. I need to be alone for a while, even if it hurts."

He looked up at the other three people —and crow— around. "Not that I'm not having fun here!"

"No no, I get it," said Peeps. "That's what the road was made for, man! The cities, the tourist traps, all of that is secondary. It's when you are alone by yourself when you figure out who you are!"

Rain gave him a dubious look. "How would you know? You traveled from New York to here, and you have been crashing at my home since then," she said.

"And you know better than me? You've lived here your whole life," Peeps replied.

"I've travelled," said Rain, with excessive confidence. "A bit. You are right though; I've lived here for most —not all— of my life. It's where I'm happy _and I am fortunate_. Most people despise the place they were born into and they need to get out to really be themselves."

She gave everyone a nod as she said this —and a wink, in Steven's case. If he'd done something to worn out Rain's defenses, or if she'd warmed up to him for some other reason, Steven couldn't say, but he was glad anyway. Rain and Peeps proceeded to talk about the places Rain has been to; she knew all the East Coast personally, it seemed.

All of this brought to Steven another conversation he'd with Dr. A.

" _It's OK if I talk about my stuff?" he'd asked her, one day he was feeling particularly… not good looking._

" _What 'stuff' exactly?" Dr. A. asked. "The half-gem stuff or the personal stuff?"_

" _Uh, both? I mean, I don't feel like I need to disclose everything. I feel listened now, with my dad and the gems, but I know people like to be nosy. And let's not even mention this," Steven made a circle around his pink-patched face and horns. "How am I gonna explain this?"_

_Dr. A. was quiet for a moment, playing with the glasses hanging from a blue cord from her neck. She'd never worn them in front of Steven._

" _I think, concerning your traumatic experiences, it's entirely up to you. If the situation calls for it, and you are with someone you feel comfortable, I'd say go for it." She shook her head slightly. "But if we are talking about being part gem, I wouldn't recommend it. Not because it's bad. It's just that, while some people have had a troubled childhood, not many have had encounters with the supernatural."_

Steven suppressed a laugh —she made it all sound so easy. He'd taken Dr. A. advice at heart. He'd tried to appear casual, to make small talk. He'd sworn to never mention the magic stuff, and to skedaddle out of the heavy experiences. And whenever the subject about his skin came up —more often than he wanted— he have given the excuse Dr. A. invented: 'non-contagious skin disease'.

The results have been a total flunk. The small moments he'd shared with other people had been weird at best. And it wasn't just him being awkward. Most people didn't even bat an eye at him, it's true. But some _stared_ , and that stung. These moments here at Death River's abandoned Camping Site were the first meaningful experience Steven had since he left Beach City (not counting Connie's visits).

Now, Steven was daring to believe that, awkward as it might seem, he can actually pass as a normal, boring human. All he had to do was to be himself.

The _human_ part of himself, not the magical part. For all Steven cared, all the magic in the World could stay in Beach City buried with most of his childhood.

He reached for his glass and finished his beer. It was the fourth one of the night and he was feeling fuzzy already. The rest of the group chatted amicably; their auras going up and down, manifesting in spectacular ways. A picture of light, painted with emotions. Steven was glad to be there, basking into that light.

Only when Peeps stood up Steven paid attention to the physical world again.

"I'm bored with all this silence. Gonna put some music," said Peeps.

"Good to know my talk is silence to you," said Rain.

Peeps gave an offhand comment and walked towards the 'truck'. A few seconds later, the sound of a man going through all the songs on his playlist was heard.

"So where are you staying, Steven? Need a place to crash? Cause the hostel has space," said Rain, obviously intended to book Steven at her place and charge him the night.

Which was respectable, but Steven already had a place to sleep in.

"'Sleep-tight Motel', outside Jacobsville," he said, in a tone that implied that it was a shame he couldn't stay. "It's just for the night, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"So soon?" asked Soledad.

"I'm supposed to be in Richmond by tomorrow. Then I'm heading to Virginia Beach and-"

"Yeah yeah, you have a whole plan ahead. I get it. And it's a good plan, ifyouareintoplanning," said Soledad, mumbling at the end. "I was just hoping, maybe, you would want to come here by lunch tomorrow?"

Soledad showed her hands, as if apologizing before hand. "Only ff you want, obvy! You could have one of Rain's _sfijas_ , and we could hang a little more. It could be fun." Her face turned sour, and so did her voice. "So long as the Sheriff doesn't close us down."

Steven's attention was dragged from the realms of dizziness. "What's wrong with the Sheriff?"

"What's _not_ wrong with him, more like," said Rain. "He doesn't like us hanging in this place, since it's a 'construction site'," she added, in a way you could hear the quotations marks in her tone. "He's a pest but is harmless. He hasn't come here in a while. So if you wanted to drop by, you wouldn't find any trouble."

Rain's 'too cool for school' tone was adorable, in Steven's opinion. Soledad was too, in the way she was pleading with her not-quite puppy eyes —they were more like a cat's dilated pupils. Steven's rational side tried to drive his thoughts back to his travel plan. But Steven's mind was happy where it was.

"I'll come," he announced. "I've got to have lunch after all, right?"

The fire from Soledad's aura shined, warm and gentle. Homey. Peeps came back soon after, with his phone in one hand and four beers under his arms. The song he'd picked up existed in a puddle in the middle of Rock and Swing.

The four of them filled their glasses and had a cheer.

"For having messed up parents," cheered Peeps.

"For being messed up together," cheered Soledad.

"For being messed up at home," cheered Rain.

Steven thought deeply about his cheer. After a few seconds, he raised his glass and said:

"For the road."

They emptied their glasses in one go, feeling their problems going down with the drink. Soledad extended her hand at him and he grabbed it, letting himself be grabbed by the girl. Everything after that was fuzzy laughing and dancing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write... It's difficult to me to write from just Steven's perspective and trying to get him (and the audience at the same time!) to know these people and to see the invisible connections between them. I hope i did a good show and you guys found my OCs interesting at least.
> 
> OH, and please dont miss next chapter, cause a lot of BIG bombs are coming. Remember, we only have two chapters left of part 1!
> 
> Anyway, gotta go. Please comment if you liked it!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Happy (late) Valentine's Day to you all!
> 
> As a gift, i brought another chapter of this fic. I.. dont really know if anybody is reading it, but i'll keep posting anyway.
> 
> As promised, this chapter is twice as long as the others; lots of info, plot, drama, bombs, and stuff happens.
> 
> I hope you guys like it.

" _Qué opinas de Steven?"_

Rain smashed the buttons, making the pinball flippers waggle erratically. But despite her efforts, the ball felt into the drain. The Pinball machine played the depressive LOSER tune. Rain smacked the machine, which went dark and quiet. One day, she'll hear the WINNER music.

"See? That's what happens when you talk to me," she said to the man at her right.

Peeps looked up from his sketchbook and stuck out his tongue. Then he went back to slashing the paper with his pencil.

"What was that you asked before?"

" _Pregunte qué opinas de Steven?"_ said Peeps, in fluent Spanish.

It took Rain a moment to put the words into their assigned mental slots. 'What do you think of Steven?' he'd asked.

"Why are you speaking in Spanish? These lovebirds can't hear a thing from there," Rain pointed at the mentioned teens near the pool table, chatting and laughing —and, in Steven's case, pretending to know how to play pool.

Peeps said nothing. He was fluent in 5 languages, but Rain only spoke two; English, and what little Spanish her mom taught her. Ever since Peeps moved into the hostel, they'd felt into speaking it whenever they wanted to speak something private. And modesty aside, Rain had gotten great at it since then.

" _Me cae bien, pero tengo que conocer-lo más_ ," she said. 'I like him, but I need to know him better'.

Peeps snickered. "You mean 'conocerlo mejor'".

"Right," Rain said, with the faintest red on her face. An idea occurred to her. "Why do you ask? Do you feel something _odd_ about him?" she whispered.

Peeps lifted his gaze to stare at Steven. Rain, meanwhile, stared at Peeps. Finally, the man shrugged.

"Nah, I must be paranoid. He seems harmless enough."

Rain made a sound like a deflating balloon. This one was on her; hoping for Peep's Extrasensorial Perception to open up in one night has been too far-fetched.

"New topic. When are you gonna teach me some magic, _Aylin_?" said Peeps.

Rain frowned. Peeps knew better than to drop the birth names. "When you are ready, _Davi_ ," she said.

"But when will that be? It's been months, and all you had me do is made sandwiches and cook fries."

"And you _still_ burn them up. You can't make a good tray of fries and you want me to teach you to throw lightning bolts from your hands? I don't think so."

Peeps groaned and hid his face in his sketchbook. He was striking furiously now.

"Think of it this way," said Rain in an appeasing tone. "Magic is like cooking. Or like art." Peeps lifted his gaze from the book. "How you feel about it is as important as how much you know about it —damn, maybe _more_ important. I know you put your heart in your art but not into your cooking, that's why you suck."

"But magic is not cooking," she added. "You know what happens when you half-arse the Craft?"

Rain rubbed her right hand, from the wrist to the elbow, feeling the scarred tissue over the skin. Time had done wonders healing the burnt scars, and what haven't healed, Rain had hid under the tattoos. But the scars were still there; and they'll probably always be.

"Look, bad shit happens, OK? Just forget about the whole thing," said Rain hid her arms behind her back.

Peeps huffed and went back to his drawing, now with soft, sad strokes of his pencil.

Poor guy. Ever since he'd caught Rain doing magic, he'd wanted nothing more than to learn.

That was Rain's fault. Mostly. Peeps was on his first month at the hostel when a big thunderstorm hit the town, shutting all lights out. Rain was in her room alone so she used magic to light the place up and search for some candles. She trusted everyone was sleep, so she didn't hear Peeps going up the stairs to her room until it was too late.

It'd been too much for the poor guy, and not just because Rain hit him with the sphere of light —I mean, who barge in into a lady's room without knocking? Ever since then, Peeps had set his mind into doing magic.

Of course, the inherent dangers of magic was just half of the reason why Rain haven't taught Peeps an inch of the Craft. The other half —and the most important half— was because he would suck at it. Surely he would be an avid student, Rain was sure of that at least. You don't learn 5 languages and teach yourself how to draw by being lazy.

The problem wasn't mental, it was metaphysical. Peeps had the Extrasensorial Perception of a carrot. He couldn't see auras nor detect the Subtle Magic. Perhaps he could study the Craft and become a scholar overnight, but it would take years for him to do any actual magic —if he ever manages to do so.

_Why does he want to learn so badly?_ Rain thought. What would he even do with the Craft? Making his pens move by themselves? Throw fireballs at people? He'll quickly bore himself with it when he had it. Or… or maybe he'll decide this town's too boring and he would move out of the hostel.

And it would be a shame... with he around to help, the place was finally starting to look decent.

Rain reached for her beer and finish it off in one drink. She was worrying too much; a signal she was getting old.

She distracted herself by looking at the teens. Soledad was saying something that made Steven laugh his socks off.

Now _, that girl was a whole other can of worms_ ; one Rain didn't even dare to look at. She had it. IT being the thing you need to be good at the Craft. It was good Sol didn't know anything about magic, lest she asked Rain to teach her. She might be forced to accept, only on the foundation of not wanting Sol doing unsupervised magic.

The thought alone made her shiver. Rain had an unfortunate story of messing things up when she gets too involved. Again, the scars came to her mind.

"Man, these two are wasted," said Peeps, in a somewhat perkier mood, as he looked attentively at the teens.

Rain felt her worries going away. If looking at Steven directly didn't awakened Peeps' ESP, nothing will. He'll never do magic. Soledad will leave soon too. And Rain wouldn't have to find out if she could actually was better this way.

Soledad got close to Steven and said something in his ear. They were so close you would've to use a crowbar to separate them.

_That girl just doesn't give up_ , Rain thought amusingly. She probably ought to apology to Steven for the cold shoulder she gave him earlier. But again, _she probably oughtn't,_ not with the scare Steven gave her. You don't see something… _someone_ like him often.

She gave her back to the teens; more time looking at Steven's aura and her eyes might carbonize faster than Peeps' fries. She put both hands on the pinball machine, and _**breathed**_. The machine came back to life, with its symphony of sounds designed to trap you into its flipper claws.

"They are fine," said Rain as she pushed a new ball into the game. "They're not that wasted."

* * *

They were absolutely wasted, and Steven couldn't be happier about it. After all, before tonight he was afraid he couldn't get drunk.

His first time drinking was a complete disappointment. He was hanging out with Peedee, Connie, and some of Connie's friends from school. Lars —who was visiting Earth at the moment— bought the beers for them. 'You can't go into the road without having your first one' he'd said.

After two beers, the group was starting to be a bit more loose-tongued and to move a bit slower. Steven, however, was four beers in and was stone-cold sober. Lars stopped him before he could drink a fifth one —his aura was a blob of envy.

Steven figured out what has happened a few days later. _It was his gem;_ the Diamond in his belly could heal Steven of any damage he received, not matter how big. Even having his skull broken has barely sent him into a momentary coma. So when Steven drank that beer, his gem thought he was ingesting poison willingly and in great quantities, and it worked overtime to heal him. Conclusion: he couldn't get drunk.

Other folks would've seen it as an advantage. Steven panicked. Not being able to do something everyone else could felt like being robbed of something. He started doing an exercise: every time he drank something, he would visualize it as beer. Water; beer. Orange juice; beer. The idea was to trick his brain into thinking beer was as innocuous as anything else. He did this for days. Until today, he hasn't had the opportunity to test if it had worked.

If the empty space inside his head and the general un-stillness of the world around him were of any indication, it had worked. Maybe too well… but whatever! There had to be worst people to be drunk with than Soledad.

Take now for example, she was telling Steven a story about her schooldays that was getting him close to wetting his jeans.

"That cannot be true!" wheezed Steven, although his conscious mind had a mild grasp on what Soledad actually said.

"It sure is! Idontgetwhatssoweird. I just wanted to build a robot!" said Soledad, her arms reaching for the sky to give an idea of the immensity of the thing in her head. "But my mom, she, my moms' the worzt. 'Do something more, 'traditional' for the szciense fair' she said. So I thought —very smartly— that I could hack my phone into an au-to-dia-ler, so it would call random folks and play a pre-re-re-recorded message."

Soledad swung her cue stick in a striking motion. "Andicanttellyou how much time I spent on that thing. AND IT WORKED!" She put two fingers of her right on the side of her head. "Five minutes after I plugged it in, I had a Secret Service's John Smith holding a gun against my head."

Steven's mouth turned into a straight line. "What?"

"Yeaaah… turns out the first number I auto-called was the Head of the FBI's Office in Washington."

"Oh my Stars," Steven covered his mouth. This was no laughing matter —or was it? It was hard to guess. "That's s-serious."

"Iknowright? They were _soo_ upset. They didn't even let me keep my phone."

"That's so sad. And w-what did you do with the —what was it name?— the science fair?"

"Oh, I built a homemade taser gun."

A long drop of sweat felt down Steven's cheek. "Oh…"

"And it worked. But it backfired."

"Why?"

Soledad looked at both sides and whispered: "Itesteditonmyscienceteacher."

That was the dam that broke the drop… no, _the drop that broke the dam_. Steven was possessed by a fit of laughter that seemed to have a life of its own.

"OK, now you are just being mean," grumbled Soledad.

"Ah-I'm sorry," gasped Steven. "I just... oh man, are you a super villain?"

"I'm… _what_?"

"No, no. I-its cool! I'm not judging. Damn, one of my friends tried to kill me. I mean, _most of my friends_ have tried to kill me. One of them tried to steal the ocean, too. And my family," Steven chuckled dryly. "Oh Stars, I can't even tell you how messed up my family is. So, like, it's totally OK if you are a super villain."

Soledad shook her head, as if not deciding if being upset or amused.

"If I were, I would live in a super-cool-ultra-secret-base in a mountain in Swis…Switz… Europe," she said. "Not in a hostel that smells like cat pee."

With the conversation reaching a wall, Steven remembered they were playing 8-ball. He also remembered it was his turn —and has been for the last ten minutes. Soledad was the stripped balls and Steven the solids. There were many more solid balls than stripped ones.

Steven walked towards the table, careful not to trip with his own feet. The solid balls were scattered across the table; but a shiny red one was one breeze away from falling into the far left pocket. _That's the good one_ , thought Steven.

He laid over the table with the cub in hand and made a line in his head. But in his current state, said line resembled the map of the New York City Metro. He positioned the cub right behind the white ball. Just one little push.

TOC. The white ball made like a rocket, hit the farthest rail and then ricocheted through the entire table, hitting every single ball, except its intended objective. It finally stopped one inch away from busting Steven's face.

The boy forehead touched the table. Soledad roared with laughter.

"I suck at everything I do," Steven groaned, miserably.

"Y-yes you do!"

Steven stood up and extended the cub at her. "Here, you play."

"What? All alone?"

"Yeah, its fun to watch you play."

A flash of red lived and died quickly on Soledad's face. She grabbed the cub and assumed the same position Steven had taken. Except when she hit the white ball, it made a straight line and pushed a stripped ball into the pocket.

"So going back to this… 'science fair'," said Steven, still struggling with the whole concept. "I guess your mom was not happy."

"Oh, you have NO idea. She was like a BULL! I thought she was gonna ground me forever."

Soledad continued to play by herself, moving around the table, looking for the best position to hit the ball. Each new hit was a ball that banished inside a hole.

"Well, I think that's dumb!" said Steven. "I mean, ob-viously I wouldn't want to be electr… ele… _shocked_. But its soo cool you made that by yourself. And the phone thing too. You're like a… computer genius."

"I know right! I've always had a thing for gadgets," Soledad put a hand on her chest. "If you need a gizmo, a device or a gimmick, _I'm_ your girl."

Steven tapped his chin in reflection. " _Re-eally_? What if I need a doodad?"

"I do those!"

"Oh, that's amazing," he cheered.

"Yeah, my science teacher —the one I elec… shocked— thought so too. He always supported my projects. He told me I could go to any technology institute if I ever tried."

Steven nodded. "Sounds like a wise man. I'm sure you'll do great."

There was an instant of silent, broken by the TOC of the cub hitting the white ball.

"That'll never happen."

This crashed Steven's mental hard drive hard enough to sober him up a little. He had a specific —some people would say _narrow_ — vision of the World, in which people that were smart went to college, and people that weren't… well, being smart wasn't _everything_ in life. But he'd taken for certain that college was a necessary milestone to anyone with actual brain over their shoulders.

"Sorry but I-I don't get it. It sounds just like the thing for you."

Soledad's mouth smiled at Steven, but her brows furrowed.

"Well, I don't know if you noticed it, but I'm not exactly _liquid_ right now."

Steven pressed his lips tight shut. _Right_ , other people didn't had a formerly rockstar dad who was a millionaire.

"Well," he started, glancing away, "there are scholarships and-"

" _Yes, Steven_ , I know there are scholarships, and grants, and loans and whatever. Ialreadyhadthistalkwithmyself. But even with all of that, living is expensive and…"

She stopped. Her aura was shrinking in shame, as did her body. Steven sat on the table next to her and put a soothing hand in her back.

"I'm broken," she muttered. Steven had to get closer to hear her. " _I'm broken_. My mom is the one who is rich, not me. And before you ask, I can't ask her for some. She always went on how I should study Economics and be more like her and… AGH!"

The sudden spike of anger from Soledad's aura almost made Steven felt to the ground. At this distance, he could share her feelings. Quite literally; there was a boiling rage in his stomach that has come out of nowhere. Steven took the hand of her back. The anger banished immediately.

_Well, this can't be good_ , Steven thought, but he couldn't ponder about this new manifestation of his powers because Soledad kept talking.

"It's just… she is _so_ difficult, you know? You have _no_ idea how controlling she can be, Steven. She questioned everything I did, every choice I made. If I wanted to do ballet, BOOM, she would put me on football. If I wanted to keep my hair long, surprise! She brings home a hairdresser."

She took a deep breath. "And if I said… I said I'm actually a woman, well, she says 'I won't allow it'"

Steven opened his mouth to ask what she… wait. _Oh_. Never mind.

"Oh man," he said.

" _Oh woman_ , you mean," said Soledad.

"Oh shit! I didn't mean-"

"I'm just messing with you," she said with a weak smile. "So yeah, I escaped home, left California, and didn't look back. Turned out alright for me, eh?"

There was a small laughing, a tiny spark of joy in the otherwise somber air. The music from Peeps' phone —a sad jazzy song— mixed with the rumble of the pinball machines in a dream-like symphony.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, my dad went through the same thing," said Steven.

Soledad gasped. "No way! Your dad's trans?"

"What? No! No, not at all. Although I do have a friend whose partner is trans. I mean I think Shep is actually NB," Steven stopped himself. "My point is, he also have trouble with his parents, so he ran away from home to wander the world. _Heh_ , he even changed his last name. Universe is not my real name."

Steven's comments made little to cheer Soledad up. Her aura was making maelstroms, as if deep in thought.

"Actually, wandering was not in my mind when I escaped," said Soledad after a moment of hesitation. "I was heading for Massa… Masse… Fucking BOSTON, alright?" she shouted, exasperated. "I have family there. My mom's family. An uncle, auntie, two cousins and a dog. The whole American Dream."

Steven could picture them as if he knew them.

"And you thought they would house you?" he asked.

"That was the plan," said Soledad.

A picture was starting to form in Steven's head. "Well, you are very close now. You could probably be there in…" he raised his fingers and tried —and failed— to count them. "Two days top! It's a shame we're not going the same way, or I could drive you off."

Words kept pouring out of him like boiling water out of a teapot, leaking over his hands and burning him. Yea, it was a _shame_ they were going to different places, otherwise he would have made a drunken offer he wouldn't be able to vouch off when sober. Soledad was nice but Steven had a schedule to follow.

"You're super nice, Steven but I-I don't even know if I'll go," Soledad said. "I don't know my uncle and he doesn't know me. I figured… if I dropped at his doorstep. I could guilt trip him into taking me in."

She stretched the skin of her face, and when she looked at Steven, she blushed. Her aura shrunk with guilt. _It must be the first she confess this_ , Steven realized.

"Give it a try," said Steven. "You'll never know, maybe it'll all turn alright."

"And if it doesn't?" said Soledad sharply. "I'd to left my home once; I'm not in the mood for having my family shut the door in my face."

Steven mulled about it for a second. "You can always stay with Rain," he said helpfully.

As if she'd hear it, Rain let out a groan and said something along the lines of 'cursed machine, I'll show you who is the loser'. She proceeded to tilt the pinball machine left and right.

"Rain's _nice_ ," said Soledad flatly, "but she only have me around because I'm a Ms. Fixit. Besides, I don't want to live in Death River forever. Look around you. It'sfuckingSilentHillinhere! I need to think about my future!"

There it was again, the picture in Steven's head. It should be clear by this point; it certainly felt like all the pieces matched. Yet, there was something he couldn't put his finger over…

"So no. Its either Boston, or…"

Soledad fished inside her pockets. She pulled out an odd-colored plastic card with imaginary money attached to it. Steven had one of those.

"A debit card?" he said.

"It's my mom. Noactuallyismine," Soledad corrected herself. "She opened me an account not long before I escaped. When I left, I thought she'd cancelled it."

She bit her lip and whispered. "But she didn't; in fact, she keeps putting money on it. Every month. It's not a gold mine or anything, just enough for hotels, and moving around and my meds."

Steven hummed a long while. _The plot thickens_. "What do you think that means?"

"I think she thinks I'm playing around. I think she thinks I need to have a loose leash for a while, get it out of my system. Then i'll come back home and be a good _girl_ ," she spat the last word, as if it was not the one she actually meant to say.

" _Come on now_. How do you know she thinks all that?" asked Steven.

"She told me," said Soledad dryly. "She called me one time I was in an hotel in Texas." Soledad hugged herself as a fit of desperate laughter possessed. "It's so funny! I spent days jury-rigging my phone to make it untraceable before I left, and then I go and use a _debit card_. What a genius, amiright?"

Steven hummed. The picture was _right in front of his eyes,_ mocking him for his short-sightedness. In the fog of his mind, Steven could see it in colors he knew about but couldn't describe. A familiar picture.

After a short silence, in which Soledad played with the debit card as if she was gonna split it in two, she said:

"Maybe I should go back."

It felt like being gut-punched with a metal fist. "Are you sure it's a good idea?" said Steven, with the bitterness of alcohol rising up his throat.

" _Abso-lutely not_. But it's been a while since we talked, face to face I mean…" Soledad shrugged. "I don't know, maybe things changed."

"But she kicked you out. A-and you said she didn't sound too happy when you guys talked-"

"I know, I know," Soledad hissed and hid the card in her pocket. "But I need to think about what's best for me, you know, fi-nan-cially. And I changed, you know? I'm not the pushover I once was! I'm gonna sit her down and tell her how I wanna do things, andsheisgonnaacceptit!"

Soledad grabbed the cub and raised it in the air, heroically. It conjured an image of Connie, sword in hand, ready to their next training session. This didn't eased Steven's stomach, which have been stinging for a while.

"Well, if you are sure about it…" said Steven, tiptoeing each word.

"Imneversureaboutanything," she quipped and hugged the cub tight to her chest. Her aura was fragile as a snowflake. "I think if we really put our heart to it, if we sit down and we can stop yellingateachotherforfiveminutes, then we can reach an arrangement." She stopped as she looked for the right words. "Maybe I could, you know, _change her mind_."

The pink diamond in Steven's belly released such a burst of energy it almost broke him apart. _Ah, there it was_. That was the picture; the remembrance he'd been ignoring. Now as he looked at Soledad, it was like looking at his mom. At Pink Diamond.

A feral rage chest grew in his chest. His teeth clashed, his claws itched to come out. His heart pumped blood quickly to give him a boost to chase an inexistent enemy. An inner, primal part of himself was like a feral animal, and somehow it connected to his gem. It became a constant struggle to keep the pink from taking over; like pushing a boulder uphill, barefoot, over a field of nails, with a bird perched over your head telling you 'hey, wouldn't it be great to let it go?'.

"Uh, Stevie… You OK there _pardner_? You look a little-"

Steven opened his mouth to excuse himself and go somewhere else. Instead, he heard himself saying: "Soledad, I don't think you should go see your mom."

Soledad chuckled. "Forget about her now. Let's go back to the game."

She walked around the table. Steven dashed towards her.

"I mean it!" he said. "I-I think it's a bad idea."

"Uh, are you the same person? Because five minutes ago you were telling me to test my luck in Boston."

"I know, I know, but it's not the same," he said, and he tried to think why it wasn't. "I mean, I know you think you can change her mind, but what if you are wrong? Or, or if she asks something from you that you don't want do to in exchange? Even if you success, It won't be worth it-"

"Woahholditrightthere!" said Soledad. Her aura glowing with impatience. "Even if all that's true, I _still_ have to try. She _is_ my mom. I'll have to make amends with her someday."

A freezing cold took over Steven's chest. Instantly, an bomb blew up in his chest and melted it.

"But... WHY?" he shouted. "Why would you want to forgive her, after everything she did to you?"

"Well, maybe she feel bad about it."

"She doesn't."

Soledad huffed. "How do _you_ know?"

"Because I DO alright?" Steven spat, full of venom. In his anger, he had grabbed the other end of the cub.

Right, the game. He ought to go back to that. He took the cub out of Soledad's hand and positioned himself to play.

"Look, think of it like… like carrying a big boulder."

Soledad looked around, like she was trying to see the figurative boulder Steven was summoning.

"You lost me," she said finally.

Steven groaned and scratched his head, scratching the base of his horns in the process. "Just imagine that the relation with your mom is a boulder right? A really, really big rock. A-and to fix that relation, you have to carry that boulder. And it will be good at first!"

Steven swung the cub around. Soledad stepped back a few steps.

"You are gonna feel much better, and you are gonna look at yourself in the mirror and think you have some, some sort of, like, moral high ground for carrying that boulder," he said. "B-but then one day you'll find that it doesn't change anything. You are just doing another person's job for nothing."

Steven laid over the table, cub in hand, in front of the white ball. His brain was full of static. Soledad was frowning; her aura was glowing redder by the minute.

"And don't get me started on the other people," he lowly grumbled, more to himself than to his audience of one. "They love to be bitter and resentful, until they are talking about you, then everyone is _sooo_ Zen. 'Carry that boulder! You are so mature. It's not even that heavy'. How the Hell do they know. You are the one that is carrying it! And it's not just one. You are carrying two, and four, and a hundred boulders for people that can't carry them themselves."

Steven held the cub behind the white ball and made a line with his mind. "So you know what? I think you are better this way. You should stay here, a-and forget all about your family."

Soledad crossed her arms. She looked very small. "Youdontmeanthat."

Steven tilted the cub backwards and screamed: "I do! Fuck your mom!"

"HEY!"

" _And fuck everyone_ _ **else**_!

TOCK! The white ball dashed too fast for the eyes to follow. It escaped the table and flew unrestrained, reaching the woods. The teens only really see it when it hit a tree. BAM! It went, and felt to the ground. All around them there was the rumble of hundreds of birds, disturbed from their pleasant dream, flying away from their nest. The sky turned feather black for a second, before the flock reached enough altitude and disappeared into the black night.

Time stopped. In the silence, Steven could hear his own ragged, volcanic breath. And he could see Soledad's aura.

Peaks of anger, twists of confusion. And… fear. Her gaze was broken and confused, like she was seeing him for the first time.

Steven felt the same thing. He was wrong. It wasn't his mom he'd seen in Soledad —it was himself.

"HEY!" came a shout so loud yet so controlled it could have made a Diamond cower —and it did.

Rain and Peeps had approached them, although keeping a respectable distance. They had the same distrust in their auras as Soledad; the air around Rain was specially electrified.

"OK, what happened now?" said Rain. Her gaze jumped from one teen to the other, but it lingered more in Steven.

"I…" Steven started. Nothing came to him.

He gently left the cub on the table. "I'm sorry," he said to Soledad as he dashed past her.

The trip to the car could have been a thousand miles long for all he knew. Steven ran as fast as he could without relying on his powers; His head was empty of all thoughts, except for the static, which was a constant at this point. He just wanted to disappear, leave it all behind.

He reached his beloved, safe Dondai. He dug into his pockets but he couldn't find the key. Damn it! He was a nerve wreck already and the alcohol wasn't helping! Maybe they were inside. Steven reached for the door with his claws…

Hands! He reached for the door with his _human hands_ but it was dead locked.

_Fuck… FUCK!_ His mind screamed as the tremors took over him.

His name chimed in the wind. He didn't want to but he looked up. Soledad WAS running at him, carrying something on her hands. Steven's head hid a bit under the car roof but he didn't try to escape. There was something in Soledad's aura that told him making a run for it would be a bad idea.

"Steven!" she shouted again as she dropped herself on top of the roof.

Her breath was ragged and so was she. Steven feared she might be going through an asthma attack. His fears banished when she shouted at him:

"Whatsthedealman!" she said too fast for the human ear to listen. "You went all berserker back then and I… I thought we were having fun I…" Her hands went to her face and hair, trying to clean of the sweating. "Idontgetit."

"I know," said Steven. "I know and it's not your fault, it's _mine_ and…" Steven's hands went to his head and applied numbing pressure at each side. "I'll won't bother you anymore, I promise. I tried to leave but I can't find my-"

"Keys?" she asked. He nodded silently.

Soledad dropped what she was holding on top of the Dondai. _Ah_ , no wonder Steven was cold.

"Left your jacket by the table," she said. "Bet your keys are in here somewhere."

At this point, Steven wasn't sure if he was pink with panic or red with embarrassment. He grabbed his jacket; better to leave now than to make himself more of a fool. When he pulled for the piece of cloth, Soledad pulled back.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Soledad," Steven begged.

"Tell me what's wrong or I'm taking your jacket hostage, _andimnotkidding_!"

Soledad's threat didn't do much to scare Steven off. He could rip it out of her hands, speed up, get in the car and leave before she'd time to blink. A thousand things he could do flashed through the swamp of his mind, and he did not a single one.

"I'm sorry," he said meekly, feeling like he was a kid again, in the worst way possible.

"Hey its… it's alright, really," said Soledad after a pause, "it's no big deal-"

"Yes it is," he shouted. "This used to be easier."

" _This_?"

"Talking to people," he explained. _Oh_ , she mouthed. "It was easier when I was small and cute; it felt like I knew how to be…"

_Normal._ He didn't dare say it. His head touched the Dondai's roof. "Who am I kidding? I've always been weird, but back then I was a weird _kid_. Now I'm a weird grown up who doesn't know how to adult."

Soledad's nose wrinkled. "It's that what got you worried?" she asked sweetly. Then, she shouted. "DUDE. No-body knows how to adult! That's, like, the first thing you learn when you grow up. Everybody is learning from scratch stuff others already know, and that includes talking to people." She scoffed with feigned offense. "Also, you need more than some strong words and shouting to get me to hate you; _in case that's what was eating you up._ "

Steven blushed. Either he was easier to read than what he thought (big change) or Soledad was sharper than what she let's on ( _also_ a strong possibility).

"So… you are not mad?" asked Steven.

"Oh, I am," she clarified. "Especially because you left before I could put you in your place. I mean… that's what friends do, right? They fight over dumb shit and make up later, right?"

Soledad was looking at nothing but Steven, and he, in turn, couldn't focus his gaze except on her eyes. It was like staring at a bank camera; except hazel-colored and prettier.

"Assumingyouwantustobefriendsimean-"

"I do."

The following silence was long, red, and warm. Steven distracted himself with his jacket. Trusty, reliable, good ol' organic jacket. He hated to admit it, but pink had always been his color. Steven fished inside the left pocket. Yep, there were the keys.

"So, uh, want to tell me what was bothering you?" asked Soledad. "All in spirit of knowing how to best yell at you."

Now, that was a crossroad. The keys were in Steven's hands, his car was right there. Any excuse could do. Damn, forget the excuses; Steven just had to ride this wave of awkwardness and surf off out of this problem. Drive the car back to the motel while he listened to his discount mix tape, collapse over his room's bed and wake up tomorrow, fresh as a vegetable and with the memories —both good and bad— of this night slowly banishing from his booze-free head.

That was _one_ road. The other road was rockier, but perhaps the view was better?

Steven chose the latter: he told her everything. Or, _almost_ everything _._ He spared her the bits about gems, magic, and the near-apocalyptic experience Earth went through. No need to blew up her head.

Instead, Steven told her a story. It was about a boy; a kid born of a death mother, with a homeless father. A kid who grew up in a van, suffering cold and heat. A kid who, barely a toddler, left his dad to live with his mother's friends. His childhood was full of love, but lonely; no school, no family vacations or doctor appointments. No friends —except for _one_. The kid learnt to be self sufficient; and he learnt so well that when he grew up, he began to take care of others. He became his family's emotional pillar; the caretaker of his caretakers.

And when that kid grew into a man and nobody needed him anymore, he learned an awful truth. Without anybody to take care of, _he_ was nobody.

So he picked his Dondai and hit the road. And he never looked back —although he does calls home every two days tops. Just to keep the appearances.

Soledad listened carefully, not interrupting except for making an occasional remark.

" _Woah_ ," she said once it was over, and then added a profound: "Heavy."

Steven hummed in response. At some point they've climbed the Dondai to rest over the roof. Time was a shapeless weave of strings, and Steven was trapped inside it. He _knew_ he'd talked —his throat was sore and his chest was heavy—, he remembered what he has spoke about, but the actual conversation was blurry. It wouldn't be fair to blame it on the booze; the dissociation episodes have been a constant in his life even before he started therapy —and Dr. A. already warned him they won't go away overnight.

Soledad's soft laughter brought Steven back from the nebula of his mind.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing, just thinking on how similar we are. On the whole 'expectations and loneliness' thing, not the whole 'taking care of your whole good-for-nothing family'," she clarified. Her eyes were fixed on the sky. "I mean, I'd never taken care of anything. I had a rabbit when I was a kid, and it died. Then I got a cactus —which also died. The only reason I didn't die was because there was always someone around —an assistant, a nanny, someone to take care of me but my mom and it was…"

"Well it was very lonely, somehow," she concluded with a moan. "I do envy you tho. If I'd been more self-reliant back then maybe I won't be so useless now."

"You are not useless," said Steven.

"I am. Ask Rain about it."

Steven sat up with the effort of a brick lifting itself from the ground.

"You are not useless," he insisted. "Do you think anyone could do the things you do? You think _I_ could? At least you have a plan. Well, _two_ _plans_ ," he corrected himself. "One way or another, you'll know what to do."

The comment stirred something in Soledad. Her aura shifted back to anger and she grimaced.

"Yesh, talkaboutgoingbackintotopic," she said. "I was just trying to relate to you."

Ah, there it was again. The whole 'I'll stop thinking about my problems by focusing on someone else's'. Classic Steven. Soledad's aura spin around herself, shutting down; she crossed her arms to fit the point. The bridge he'd felt before appeared before him again. He could feel Soledad's reluctance to keep this conversation. Her fear of doing something wrong, disguised under all the anger. It was personal and deep and Steven didn't like to feel it. He saw his own hand was over Soledad's. He retreated it and the bridge banished.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he said, slightly more composed. "You opened up to me and I made it about myself; I should had just listened and shut my big mouth."

Soledad's aura shifted into calm and… bashfulness?

"Its _fine_ , really," she said. "Jeez, in any case I should be sorry for dropping my entire luggage over you. I didn't mean to take you down memory lane."

"I live in memory lane, don't worry about that," joked Steven. "And don't apology for ups… making people mad. Especially if it's an accident."

The sudden grow in Soledad's aura almost made Steven smile. And the wicked look on her face finally caused it.

"That sounds like solid advice." Soledad put a hand on her chin, as if deep in thought. "Maybe you should follow it."

"Heh, maybe I should."

She looked at Steven with those big feline eyes. Steven decided —for no particular reason— he'd rather look at the sky. The stars were beautiful tonight.

"Soledad?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm drunk."

" _No kidding._ What prompt… what… how can you tell?"

"Sky's moving."

Well, that wasn't all true; Steven actually felt like his head was moving, spinning at speeds never seen before. Steven had never been much for going to space —too many bad memories up there. At that moment, however, he wondered how is that everything that was up there made more sense than what was happening down here?

The only thing keeping him truly grounded was the girl at his side. They were really cramped there, over the Dondai, and Steven tried not to even touch Soledad, in fear it might open the bridge again. He has to many emotions on his own to having to deal with someone else's.

They spent some time chatting about nonsense they forgot as soon as it left their mouths. They only stopped when Rain and Peeps came by. By their looks and auras, they were tired —and drunker than they'll ever admit.

"You lovebirds are done there? Cause food's not free and you need to help me pack the camp."

As he stepped down the car, Steven's head went from being numb to being overcrowded.

_Why did she mean by 'lovebirds'? I have I girlfriend! I did say that, didn't I?_

He faced Rain and Peeps, with Soledad by his side. _Well, here goes nothing._

"Listen, I'm sorry for-"

"If you guys are cool we're cool," Rain interrupted, with a dismissive hand gesture. "Just try not to yell so loud next time. You scared all the birds from the woods."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Steven was gonna extend the same apology to Peeps, when the man manhandled him into a headlock.

"You need to _relaaax_ , Steven," he said, and Steven tried not to smell his odor of sweat mixed with frying oil. "That was nothing like last time Rain and Sol had a fight. Remember?"

"You kidding? Miss Goodwillson called the cops and everything. Good thing it was the Deputy that came by, because Lowe would have give us hell," said Rain.

Soledad huffed, as red as possible. "Why do you always brought that back?"

The conversation continued pleasant and natural. Steven even dared to add a comment here and there. He was footloose, almost ecstatic. Ever since he left home —and for most part of that day— he'd been worried about being seen as weird, strange. Not normal.

And that's exactly what happened! He'd made a whole scene and has claimed the title of King and Queen of weirdness. And yet, here he was. The world didn't end. He was still alright.

Dr. A. words came back to him.

" _I know you won't believe me, Steven, and I don't blame you," she said. "The trauma you'd to go through was too intense, and yes, it'll probably be with you for the rest of your life."_

_Dr. A. extended a comforting hand. Steven took it. It was cold but soft to the touch._

" _But I need you to know this: you deserve to be happy. And you need to give yourself the opportunity to be. The war is over, Steven. You can move on."_

Steven made a mental note to thank her in their next session. She may've been right after all.

The four of them were heading into the camping site when he reached for Soledad's arm.

"Hey Sol, can I give you a ride home?" he said, almost begged. "I mean, I burnt half my tank already, I might as well use the rest." He played with his turtleneck's neck. "Also, I want to make it up to you."

Soledad showed again that wicked look that Steven was starting to fear.

"Ya just want another therapy shesh with me, don't you?" she poked Steven's side, hitting his laughing bones.

"No way. You have too much baggage to be a therapist." He stopped her ministrations by holding her hand.

Then he stopped moving. She was happy. Soledad was happy around him. He'd only known him for a few hours, and somehow, she felt this… this connection to him. It was strange; she felt like they'd known each other since forever.

Of course, the connection she was feeling was the bridge Steven accidentally opened, and he knew it. But it was odd Soledad could sense it too.

"GIRL! Come on, I want to leave already," came Rain's yelling from the truck. She had some gloves on and a wet dish on her hand.

Soledad's hand slid oh-so-softly away from Steven's. She flashed him a disarming smile before running to help Rain in the kitchen. Peeps was unplugging the pinball machines. Steven decided to help by taking the trash.

He went to the table they used and grabbed everything that was not a plate. Papers, leftover fries. And there was also another thing; a sketchbook and some pencils. That's right, Steven had caught a glance of Peeps drawing something. He gave a glance behind his back before opening the book.

What he saw left him speechless. He was greeted by his own face made in pencil, tears in his eyes, laughing like there was no tomorrow. Next to him was Soledad, in a relaxed pose, telling and endless, silent joke. Of course, there were kinks here and there. His nose wasn't so small, and Soledad wasn't quite as tall, and of course there were too many unnecessary strokes.

But there was such a pure emotion radiating from that drawing. Something so mundane and simple. It was an image of Steven himself, from the eyes of someone else. Weird, good ol' Steven.

He closed the book cautiously and went back to pick up the trash. In his mind, Dr. A's mantra repeated on loop.

_The war is over,_ he chanted internally, and this time he could almost believe it. _The war is over…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there it is!
> 
> This chapter was complex (i know, i said the same about all the other chapters...). I wrote Rain's scene in the first version; in fact, she had two scenes in this chapter. Then in the second version i decided to cut the second scene, and finally i cut down the first one too. But then, before i uploaded it, i decided to keep the scene, even if the sudden change in POV is a bit confusing. I think it adds to Rain and Peeps' characterization and explain a few things (And creates new questions, hopefully).
> 
> Anyway, next chapter is gonna be the last one of the first part, so dont miss it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAnd here we are folks, final chapter of part 1 and.. GASP! Its a whole chapter from an OC POV? Thats right!
> 
> Originally, it wanted Rain to have another, longer POV. But i felt that, being the deuteragonist and all, Sol deserved to have at least 1 chapter in part one (she has more on part 2 and 3).
> 
> So i wrote this on the second draft (this is, like, the third one), and i like it! I hope you guys like it too!

Soledad felt as if she was walking on thin air. Figuratively, of course. _Or was it_? It was getting hard to know where up and down was; she'd drank too much too fast.

One quick look confirmed her that, yes, there was a stainless steel floor under her feet. There was also a pile of dirty dishes waiting for her in the sink. And a cute boy in a pink letterman picking leftover papers off the ground outside the 'food truck'. And Soledad had a full look from the window!

"You like that plate that much?"

It took Soledad a moment to register the voice. "Sorrywha?"

"I asked if you like that plate that much," grumbled Rain, "you know, since you've been washing it the last five minutes."

Rain had a rag in one hand, a sprayer full of chlorine in the other, and was currently occupied murdering germs and cleaning all stains from the kitchen counters. For someone so unkempt when it came to general appearances, Rain was as clean as a military surgeon. Even her apron—with which she'd been cooking the whole day— didn't have as much as a stain on it.

It was the same at the hostel. Soledad still had nightmares from the first time she saw the patch-up Rain had done to the electrical installation of the place; the whole thing was one hairdryer away from burning up. However, everything else was so clean you could eat off the floor. Soledad had joked about it:

"At least when the building burns to the ground, the firefighters will say 'gee, that's the cleanest pile of ash me eyes have ever seen!'" She'd said. _And then she never joked like that again._

She'd concluded Rain was the living embodiment of 'dress for the job you want, not the job you have'.

"I'm on it," said Soledad and scrubbed the grease of the plate, after which she put it in the 'clean but wet' pile to her left.

Her mind wasn't on it, though. Her eyes kept darting up to Steven; he was done picking trash and was now standing and chatting with Peeps. Or more like, 'balancing from one foot to the other like a metronome' _and_ chatting with Peeps. Oh yeah, that boy was wasted. What Soledad to watch the stars with him again…

"Soledad, snap out of it!" shouted Rain. Soledad's back straightened like a soldier. That brought back memories from home. "You can watch cute boys in your free time," added Rain, in a sultry voice.

"I know, I know." Soledad went back to the dishes, only occasionally peeping at the boy in pink.

Rain, having finished with the counters, came to Soledad's side. She unleashed a rain of disinfectant over the dirty stove.

"Man, you have it real bad this time, uh?" said Rain casually.

"Yeah, what is it for you?" Soledad snapped. Silence. Damn it, not again _._

 _Easy girl. You are no longer at home, and Rain is not your enemy,_ she told herself.

"Iguessso," she said to Rain, calmer.

Rain hummed. "He is nice," she commented, delicate as a flower, "but don't get your hopes to high. You barely know him. And he has a girlfriend."

Soledad furiously scrubbed the sponge over the plate until it was white clean, and then she threw it over the clean pile.

"That doesn't mean anything," Soledad said calmly.

She hated when Rain went into her 'adoptive big sister' mood, but she had a point. When Soledad first met him, she hasn't known what to make out of Steven. She didn't ask for help. She _didn't_ want help —although, looking back to it, she probably needed it. Then out of the sudden this short, pink snowman of a boy materialized in front of her; Soledad even did a double take because she saw… well it doesn't matter what she _thought_ she saw.

The thing is, when Steven came towards her, Soledad expected to live a moment like in the movies. The boy comes forward to the jerk and goes 'Hey, why don't you leave the girl alone, dipshit?' or some other cool quote that only the mind of a Hollywood writer could come with; then he mops the floor with the bad guy and his goons, takes the girl in his arms and carries her to the horizon.

None of that happened. Instead, Steven came to her with a trick. A trick that worked! They had skedaddled out of there with barely a noise. She'd never seen someone defuse a situation so smoothly —no violence, yelling, or fighting.

On the car trip (if you can call that tuna can a 'car'), Soledad made her mind about three things. One, Steven was a good boy. Two, he was different than other boys —in a way she couldn't put her finger on. And three, she wanted to get some lip to lip action with him.

As for the girlfriend back home… Well, 'She' is probably nice and all, but 'She' is still some girl from some small town; Steven was a man on a trip to discover the world, discover himself —heal old wounds, if possible. And sure, Soledad wasn't a walking circus —and she was even less of a psychologist— but she wasn't a wet noodle. She'd a lot to offer to a man like Steven. Now she just had to figure out the kind of man he was… Maybe…

A snicker came out of her, and it quickly evolved into mad laughter.

"Oh, what is it now?" said Rain, looking skeptical. The stove was as white as a hospital room and she was resting her back against the counter and playing with her phone (a pinball App, judging by the music).

"Nothing. It's dumb."

"Hmp, alright."

They were in silence for a moment, before Soledad said this:

"Imeanitsstupidanditspseudoscienceandidon'tbelievethatshitbut have you ever had prophetic dreams?"

There was an (almost) imperceptible movement on Rain's face. "Why? Have you?" she asked.

"No! _Nooo_ , nope, nonono… Well…" Soledad added after a few seconds. "I did have a super weird dream last night."

"You can tell me and do the dishes. Multitask, girl," Rain pointed at the sink.

Soledad didn't retort. She grabbed the largest, greasiest pan, squeezed the bottle of liquid soap on it and began scrubbing it with the sponge. At the same time, she talked:

"OK, so I didn't know it was a dream at first —cause that's what happens in dreams, usually. I was in some kind of lame party. Or at least the people were lame, you know, faceless folks walking around, which is weird cause you can't invent faces in dreams; you brain just stick the faces of people you know into some random body-"

"I would like to leave before sunrise, Dr. Freud," grumbled Rain. Her phone played the LOSER music and she tsked at it.

"Right, right. So, faceless mocks, dumb party, and ugly music, and me… and there was this dude," Soledad stopped a second. Just for drama. "I don't remember his face, but that's the thing: _he had one_. Everyone else was shadows but him. And then I woke up."

"Short dream. Finish the dishes," Rain gave her back to her, giving the conversation for over.

"No, no, you don't get it," Soledad dropped the pan onto the sink, splashing water everywhere. Even in Rain's clean apron. "I woke up from the dream, _but I was still sleep!_ "

Even as she was squeezing the water from the apron, Rain gave Soledad a _look_. "A dream within a dream?"

"Bingo!" Soledad picked the pan and put it over the now dangerously tall dishes pile. "When I woke up, I was alone in a dark… room of sort. I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, it was super claus… cla… fucking cramped. Then I felt a touch, like a wet hand on my face, and _whoosh_!" She dipped both hands in the dirty water. Rain took a step back just in time to evade the waterworks. "It felt like I was taking a warm shower in the morning. The mysterious man was also there, but I couldn't see him. Then I woke up."

"But not really," reasoned Rain as she grabbed the mop and cleaned the water from the floor.

"Exactly! Now it was me, the mysterious man, and other two or three people, idontknow, and we were in a forest I guess? The Mysterious Man was looking at me but —and this is the _really_ weird part— I was seeing stuff through his eyes. Like I was me, but him at the same time, and when he was looking at me I looked… Unique. Beautiful," Soledad's voice dropped to a whisper.

She was at loss of words —a strange feeling for her. The sink's water was full of oil stains and soap, but it was clean enough to show her reflection. Her teal highlights. Her amber eyes. The not-so-slight curvature of her nose. Her reflection stared at her and it didn't look half-bad. The thing is… she'd known she was a woman for a good while. She was living as one now, which was great. She didn't look much like her mom, another bonus. She was smart and a handywoman. She was working on her anger issues and was doing some sweet progress. She'd to work on her people skills, but who doesn't? Soledad could name a bunch of good things about herself —and a whole bunch of ugly things.

But _beautiful_ wasn't in either list.

She grabbed another plate, the last one. Anything to not look at Rain. This was a good thing; because if she had, Soledad would have seen her face painted with shock.

"Imeantherewasalsoagiantthere but that's not important," said Soledad, suddenly very hot in a not-drunk way. "The party thing is the important one. Because through that entire weird dream I felt that dude, the Mysterious Man was… I don't know, an important person. Like a movie star or the president or something."

She laughed dryly. "But obvy that was just a dream because, duh… Do you imagine Steven as the president?"

She pointed a wet hand at the boy; he was balancing himself successfully over a wooden plank on top of a rock. He then felt into his butt and stood up, all wobbly legs and awkward laughs. And yet, Soledad couldn't stop looking at him.

"Yeah, not at all," said Rain dubiously. She turned her phone off and dropped it inside his pockets. "But like you said, it was just a dream. Now finish that plate and get out, I have to mop."

 _No need to say it twice_ , thought Soledad. She rushed the last plate and put it on top of the pile, which wobbled left and right but stood still at the end.

She left the kitchen and rejoined the boys. They were in the middle of some conversation that was making Steven laugh.

"Sol! Finally," said Peeps and extended an arm around her in that particular way he did when he wanted to annoy her. "I was telling Steven about how you got your highlights."

Both boys grinned at her. Alright, first business of tomorrow was to kill Peeps (or at least heavily elect… shock him).

"It's a dumb story," said Soledad, deep red.

"Is it-is it true that you wanted to pick 'blonde' but you were s-so drunk you chose 'teal'?" said Steven, interrupted by his hiccups of laughter.

"NO. I wanted this super cool teal color," Soledad grumbled and broke free of Peeps' hold.

That was actually a half truth. She'd wanted _blonde_ highlights, but in her moment of hazy drunkenness she'd a vision of her mother and how she used to wear blonde highlights. Soledad became rabid and changed the color for one her mother would never pick —the weird neon blue she was sporting now.

The first few days she'd hated herself for her recklessness; how much control her mother still had over her, even without being present. Bu she has grown to like it. Teal really suited her.

"Aha. What about the tattoo?" Peeps inquired.

Soledad covered her face with her hands. OK, she'd no good excuse for that.

"So it's true?" asked Steven. "You really were getting a tattoo but you got scared at the last second?"

"Imnochicken!" Soledad shouted. "Thetattooiwantedwastolarge, so I told the artist to make something simpler."

"Which was…?" Peeps leaned closer to her. Steven did the same.

Soledad sighed. "It's a star."

Peeps erupted into laughter, but Steven offered her a weak smile. He almost patted her back, but his hand stopped midway.

"Aww, I'm sure it looks cute," he said. "Besides, tattoos are cool. I wish I could get one someday. So even if you have a small one, you are still cooler than me." He got closer and added. "Besides, stars are great. Take it from me," he pointed at his own star shirt.

Soledad replied a thank you and crossed her arms. Too much attention, both positive and negative, together. Steven's smile was so soft you could sleep on it. Under the Christmas lights, his eyes glistened.

Soledad smiled wickedly at the boy and said: "Well, maybe I could show it to you next time."

Steven agreed effusively to this, completely unaware of _where_ exactly in Soledad's body was the tattoo.

 _Sorry Miss Childhood Sweetheart,_ thought Soledad for a woman she had never meet. _But this boy is_ mine _._

The conversation quickly diverted to other, less intimate areas. Not long after, Rain came out of the 'truck', now apron free and showing her arms to the world.

Those eyes… they'd always given Soledad the itches. Rain joined the rest of the group and informed them the 'truck' was with lock and key, so it was time to leave.

They packed quickly enough. Peeps had unplugged the most important extensions, shutting down the pinball machines and half of the lights. Everything was so quiet now and it was bittersweet. Soledad loved the soft humming of electricity, the glowing of artificial lights. Sure, it was nice to turn everything down once in a while, but not _here_. There was something in these woods that didn't do it for her. Too much silence.

Steven had done a good job too, collecting all the garbage; two bags full of trash and bottles hanged from each of his hands. Soledad pointed at the 'homemade trashcan' Rain had made —which consisted of a big wooden box with a lid.

"That's a trashcan?" asked Steven.

"Loosely speaking," said Soledad. She was partially sure Rain hasn't actually made it; she sometimes found some fool to do the work for her. Like cooking in her 'food truck' or fixing her generator.

Soledad's job was simply enough; turn off Ol' Berta, which was as easy as pressing a button and closing the fuel valve. Everything went dark and quiet. Soledad clapped her hands, as do everybody that did a good job, small as it was.

Since the darkness had taken over them, Soledad, Peeps and Rain turned on their phones' flashlights. Steven, by virtue of being in a group, imitated them. But his phone gave a sad whine and the flashlight turned off almost immediately.

"Oh no, nonono," Steven smashed his fingers against the phone's screen. "I must've for…forgo… I didn't charge this up at the motel. Oh man," he whined to the sky, as if blaming the stars for his dead battery.

Soledad sure as hell was thankful, as she took the opportunity to scot closer to Steven, with her fully charged phone, offering to share her flashlight with him. Steven thanked her and slid closer, but never close enough to touch her. It's alright. She'd time to work him up.

"Alright, off we go then. I just want to know…" Rain pointed her flashlight at Steven. "Steven, are you alright for driving?"

"Who me? I'm per-fec-tly fine! See…" Steven fished his keys and started to twirl them in his index.

He dropped them, and then picked them. And dropped them again. The third time, he just shoved them into his letterman's pocket.

"Oops," he said, head down, "that never works with public."

Peeps chuckled and muttered 'Classic Steven'. Soledad laughed too, but she was worried. Rain had the look of someone that was considering making two trips.

"Lookitsfine," Soledad added in a flash. "We'll go _real_ slowly. We'll follow you, so you just gotta look behind you to see us following your butt."

After a few moments of consideration, Rain groaned. "Just stay close to us. _But not too close_ ," she said and pointed at her bike. "I don't want Steven ramming his tank into my _Triumph_. It's a classic, you know?"

"That just means it's as old as her," whispered Soledad, a bit too loud since Rain seemed to hear it and gave them a glare.

Soledad and Steven scattered like roaches; first they rushed to each side of the Dondai; the wrong side, with Soledad one foot in before she noticed there was a wheel in front of the seat. Then they made a turn around the car and entered the vehicle through their correct sides.

Both young adults breathed out. Steven reclined into his seat.

"Man, what a night," he said, his gaze going up, as if he was trying to see the stars from inside the car.

_This guy's really into astronomy. That's kinda cute._

"Yeah… sorryaboutthat," said Soledad.

"Why are you apolo… why are you sorry?"

"My friends," she answered. Steven looked as confused as before. "They are _soo_ weird."

"I am weird. I'm, like, the weirdest person you'll ever find," he said with a loud chuckle. "But I'd the best time today. I mean it. I haven't had this much fun in a group of people since I-don't-know-when." He looked at his hands, with a strangely confused look. "And it was thanks to you."

A light flashed Soledad and closed her eyes on instinct. A few seconds later, she opened them again.

Steven was looking at her, slightly concerned for her sudden reaction. He was normal —or as normal as Steven could be. Nothing strange had happened.

"Oh, well… you're welcome," she said, loss of words. Second time of the night. "And thanks again, for the rescuing."

"You're welcome, my lady" Steven said with a wink. He was full of confidence now, and Soledad didn't know what to do about that. "Sorry for being weird and trying to escape."

"It's cool. I'm weird too."

"It's true. And someone once told me that's a good thing to be," he rushed to add.

A flashing light startled them. Rain and Peeps were on board of Rain's bike; both of them wearing helmets —both of them with eyes on each side. Rain made a hand motion for them to follow, and she began to drive the only road outside the clearing. Steven turned the Dondai on and went behind them.

The air was calm and silent, which was welcome after all the noise from the night. But Soledad's mind was still working overtime. Her mind was always working, always thinking.

"Say Steven," she began, and waited a few moments to get her thoughts straight. "Are you going home now? Because it's just," she looked at her yellow and pink watch, "2:30 AM. The night is young and I was wondering… if you… would like to… uh… stayforcoffeeatthehostel?"

The words ringed inside the car for a moment. "Coffee?" Steven asked.

"Yeahorteaorsomething. I mean, that's something people do when they go to other people houses. They drink coffee," she said stupidly. Then she'd an idea. " _Also_ , it's a long way from Death River to your motel, and a cup of coffee might brighten you up."

"Uh, I am as bright as I can be, thank you," Steven said, not taking it seriously at all.

"OK, yeah I get it," she said, looking away. "Maybe you need to, I don't know, rope some cattle or something; I don't know what cowboys do these days."

Steven chuckled. His laugh was strong as a lion, but soft as a kitten.

"Coffee sounds great, actually," he gave Soledad a sideway glance. "And you can tell me more about Pac-man."

"Awesome," she said, calm as a river, and when he wasn't looking she flapped her arms uncontrollably for five seconds. Then she went quiet.

It wasn't long before the route gave way to the road. The car swayed back and forth over the irregular concrete. The wind roared softly from Steven's half-open window. It'd turned to be a chilly night, but they were both wearing their coats, so it felt nice. The light from Rain's bike was a good guide in the dark road.

And in the silence, Soledad looked at the boy, this awesome boy that jumped into her life. She watched him and waited.

It'd happened again, a few minutes ago. The same thing that happened during the party and Soledad was starting to think there was something stranger with this boy than just hidden trauma.

Because at the party, and not long ago too, when she'd looked at Steven… Well, Soledad could've sworn he was _glowing pink_.

 _No, that's not possible. There is no such thing as glowing people,_ she thought, with the same intensity she used when thinking there were no such thing as prophetic dreams. She was just tired.

She rolled down the car window. The chill wind was cutting her face. She closed he eyes and breathing in the night scent. A soft, electric tune she'd never listened to before could be heard, and she felt like it was getting into her soul. It felt right.

It didn't occur to her that it was not the stereo's music she was hearing. It was off.

The Dondai drove silently into the night, their passengers' auras beating in synchrony. From the top of a tree, a crow saw the two vehicles pass by.

It took off and flew after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TA DAH! Confused yet? I hope so lol.
> 
> Seriously tho, thats kinda the idea of this fic (And its a bit of how my writing style works): i like to create questions for the people that read the story, so they break their heads trying to figure out the answers. AND OF COURSE there WILL BE answers. There is nothing i hate more than stories that raises questions but dont answer them.
> 
> Anyway, with this ends part 1, and sadly, i must say it might take me longer to publish from now on. Work is hard, writing is hard, and life? Even harder than those too. BUT i'll try to be constant and update at least once or twice a month, so dont worry. I wont let you guys down.
> 
> Well, that will be all. SEE YOU GUYS IN THE NEXT PART! (Which i will continue in this same fic, no reason to start another just for that).
> 
> DONT FORGET TO COMMENT IF YOU LIKED IT!
> 
> SEE YA GUYS LATER!


	7. PART 2: Stay Calm and Keep Breathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YIKES, its been a while hasn't it?
> 
> Sorry for the delay, life has been complicated with the job and everything. Not to mention this was the first chapter of PART 2, so i wanted to make sure it turned out alright.
> 
> But i'm FINALLY done and here it is; PART 2 begins here, and with the introduction of a new character! I want to thanks everyone that have been reading so far and specially to those that had left a comment. Seriously, your words give me life.
> 
> Well, i dont have much else to say, except that i hope you guys like it!

**PART 2: Stay Calm and Keep Breathing**

_"Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."_   
**― Aristotle**

* * *

Sheriff Lowe woke up suddenly and violently, swinging his fists left and right. It took him a moment to remember he wasn't Rambo, and he wasn't bare-chested and fighting rebels in Soviet Siberia.

He lay back against the seat of the car, rubbed his eyes and waited until reality got a hold on him. _Man, what a weird dream! But a funny one tho,_ he thought with a smile. It definitely beat sitting in his patrol car, at the shadow of a dental floss billboard, trying to catch speeders at…

He checked his watch. 2:39 AM. He was several hours away from going home. This was usually Michelson's spot, but he's been off duty for two days. For a Deputy, Michelson spent more days off duty fighting his ulcer than on duty, fighting crime.

There was the sound of a car coming over. Sheriff Lowe raised his speedometer and hoped… 30mph, it said. Too slow for speeding, to fast for slow driving. Sheriff Lowe dropped the speedometer, and his hopes with it. Sometimes drunk, rich kids with next generation cars liked to use this straight, wide section of the route for road racing, and Michelson had a lot of fun chasing after them —which was probably the cause of his chronic ulcer.

But not that night. Only three cars have passed by through the whole shift.

Naming aside, Death River was a calm town. No homicides, no gunfights and only the occasional domestic argument or drunken fight that ended in someone being stabbed required the police attention. Even drugs weren't an issue; the only dealer around was Jimmy Snakes —and he always bribed on time. Long story short, it was a bummer of a town to be a sheriff of.

Sheriff Lowe fished inside his bag of chips and grabbed a handful.

Maybe that's why the former sheriff retired? Lowe was Deputy when Sheriff Lowe—most people called him Frank; Lowe usually called him 'Dad' or 'Sir'— was on office. One day, the Sheriff came into the police department wearing a floral t-shirt, with the sheriff uniform under his arm.

" _I'm moving up to Florida. Good luck, Junior,"_ he'd said, dropping the uniform in his sons' arms, and 'Lowe Junior' has been 'Sheriff Lowe' since then.

Sheriff Lowe squeezed the chips' bag into the smallest size possible and threw the ball into the back seat. What did Florida have that Death River didn't? True, the department wasn't in good shape, but they had Cadillacs as patrol cars. Frank bought three a few years ago, in perfect shape —by a good price too, he'd said, which was equal to the police department's modernization budget. So, the Death River's Police Department had worn-out painting, mold in the corners, computers from 1999 running on Windows 98', rust on the cell bars and an ever growing mice colony living merrily in the basement.

But they also had a fleet of Cadillac Patrol Cars. And what does Florida have?

_Probably alligators on the street_ , thought Sheriff Lowe, smiling wildly. _And hordes of mosquitoes, and old people playing bridge and… and those… things that blow your house away… Tornadoes!_

He shook his head. No, those were in Kansas. What do they have in Florida?

Another car passed by. 38mph. Sheriff Lowe lifted his feet and rested them over the driving wheel. Frank wouldn't like that… but Frank was in Florida and Sheriff Lowe was in Death River, so screw him.

He crossed his arms and felt into a drowsy daydreaming (or is it 'nightdreaming' at this hour?). He imagined some stupid rich kid, on his daddy bought Dodge or BMW, going way over the speed limit. And Sheriff Lowe would chase them —as it was fitting of him to do— and pull him over and throw a ticket into his shiny teethed face. And maybe that rich kid would be foul-mouthed, reckless and dumb enough to try to pick up a fight with Lowe.

And that would be great, because Lowe was in the mood to beat up some idiot.

* * *

"Magical Space Sword."

"Bloody Mayhem."

"Mayor Octopus of Mars."

"Tentacle Mindsex."

"Soldier of the Stars."

"Atomic Empanadas."

"I hate all these bands," said Steven laughing desperately as he tried to steer the car straight. "This is the worst game I ever played."

"You want to stop?" Soledad asked, hiccupping with laughter.

"Never!"

Giggling filled the car as they kept coming with made-up band names. They were terrible; all of them. But Steven didn't care; his mind was clouded with feelings and sensations. The night's chill air coming in from the window. The dark, empty road, with only the light of Rain's Triumph ahead to keep them company. Soledad's nasal laugh that she no longer bothered hiding. The booze induced dizziness in his body. This all made Steven felt like floating. He was weightless.

There was no past on Beach City. There was not uncertain future ahead of him. He was in the transitional place called _the_ _present_ ; and the present was amazing! Except for the music…

_**Because all my exes live in Texas** _

_**And Texas is the place I'd really love to be** _

_**Because all my exes live in Texas** _

_**That's why I'll plant my flag in Tennessee.** _

_I should've left the stereo off_ , thought Steven. Drunk or not, this mix tape was no good at all. Soledad must have read his mind because she said:

"Steven, this mix tape blows man. They totally ripped you a whole buck!" she gasped, as if it were an extraordinarily high amount.

"I know," Steven groaned, lamenting his choice of cassettes for the first time. "It lied too! The tape says 'country mix', but this is 'cowboy music'."

There was a silence so deep you could hear someone's brain gears grinding.

"Isn't 'cowboy music' the same as 'country music'?"

The car shortly swerved. "Oh my Stars! They are not!" Steven shouted.

What followed was 5 to 10 minutes of drunken explanation of the subtle differences between country music and cowboy music. The speech went over Soledad's head, and by the time Steven was done, he too had forgotten most of what he'd said.

"Man, Idontevencare. I don't know the first thing about music, except that it has to make my booty shake," said Soledad, her aura flickering with excitement. "Why do you even need cassette tapes? We invented CDs for a reason."

"Which is?" Steven inquired.

Soledad gaped for an answer. "I don't know, cause square shapes suck? Everybody knows circular shapes are the best."

_Oh man, Garnet would've had a few things to say about that,_ Steven thought, amused.

"Well I like them," said Steven, meaning the tapes. "It's all about the high fi-fi-fidelity sound and the noise. I like the imperfections. Like, when I listen to a CD I think 'yes, OK, I am hearing a person's voice', but when I listen a cassette I think 'I'm listening to a person's soul', you know?"

Soledad's aura swirled with wonder. Steven caught her staring at him again.

"You're a real mystery, Mister Universe."

"What part?" Steven asked.

"What pa- well everything!" She lifted a hand and started to count. "You're young but you have an old soul. You're cheerful but also super reflective. Goofy but really wise." She lifted her other hand, even thought she still had two free fingers in the first one. "You dress like a candy cane but have a cowboy's heart. You're nice but also…"

She made a confused hand motion. "Mean?" Steven offered.

"No, it's not that. It's more like… though!" she slapped her hands together. "You are nice but though. Like life had hardened you and made you who you are."

"And who am I exactly?" Steven said humorously. "Because I have no idea."

"Give it time, dude! Those things don't happen overnight. Destiny don't come a-knocking at ya door!"

Steven hummed. _That's right. Your mom has to die and leave it to you._

"Tell me, you think I always knew I was Trans?" Soledad's aura became solid. This was personal terrain.

"Yes?"

"No," she said. "This isn't some- is not something I came out of my mom knowing." She bit her lip. "Alrightyeah, maybe that's how it is for some people. You read about six year olds that already know it and you think 'yeah, off you go tiger!', but with me, it started when I was fourteen. And forget about the slap-on-the-face revelation. In my case it was like being re-pe-ted-ly smacked on the back of your head by something you know nothing about. It took me years to know what it really was, and even more to know what it meant to me."

Steven found himself nodding excessively. "I didn't know that. I know a few Trans people, but I never thought what it was like," Steven hummed, deep in thought. "I guess gender never really meant much to me."

"Oh, we're doing Freud's couch again?" Soledad asked. "Alright, what do you mean by that?"

Steven showed his empty palms; then he swiftly grabbed the wheel before they got off road. "I don't know. I never really thought much about gender stuff. I mean, I usually see people as just people. I know everyone says that but it's different because I saw myself the same. I was just, you know, Steven. I wore boy clothes or girl clothes, I didn't care."

"What are clothes even?" added Soledad.

"Exactly! They're just pieces of cloth that we label as 'boy clothes' or 'girl clothes'."

"Preach it, man-o-the-robes!"

They laughed for a while, but the air felt different now. Heavier.

"Yeah, it was great," said Steven, gloomy. "And then you grow up and your body grows with you and everything becomes…"

"Not right?"

"Different," Steven corrected. "And if I think about it, I think 'yeah, no duh I'm a boy. I'm Steven', but that's not the point. It sucks that everything is simpler when you're a kid, but when you grow up, people put you into a box. Ugh, I hate people that force others to be what they want them to be"

"Couldn't have guessed," said Soledad and Steven blushed, remembering the incident at the camping site." And you know, it's like Peeps said; the road is the best place to find yourself cause you'll find weirder people than you. Then you realize how much of that gender stuff is bull and you can be this or that or whatever you want."

"But that's the thing," said Steven. "Do you really need to be _this_ or _that_? Isn't that just, just, ' _boxing'_ yourself? Is life supposed to be just a no-end line of people telling you _what_ you are supposed to be, while you try to find out _who_ you really are? Can't you just _be_?"

_Breathe, Steven,_ he told himself. Breathe or things could get real ugly, real pink, real fast. A warm, comforting aura hit him.

"Oh man, youknowwhatthatremindsmeof?" Soledad giggled, then immediately became serious as a tomb. "'I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life. I want to be a woman and to be a man, to have many friends and to have loneliness, to work much and write good books, to travel and enjoy myself, to be selfish and to be unselfish'."

The voice sounded like it was coming from an ancient place; a woman wise beyond her years, instead of the hyperkinetic girl Steven had just meet. When she was done, she got quiet. Steven too, as he was deeply in shock; in the five or so hours he'd known Soledad, she'd never spoke with such clarity and patience.

"OH MAN!" said Steven, full of energy. "That's it! That's totally how I feel!"

Soledad made finger guns at him "It's a banger phrase," she said.

"It's the best phrase ever! Wow, just… _wow_!" Steven let go of the wheel to grab his head. Then he picked it up again; he didn't want to crash now that he was feeling so high. "Who even said that? She must be a genius."

"Ivenoidea. I read it on graffiti on a wall outside my school." Soledad admitted, a bit shyly. "It also said 'and when I don't succeed, I get mad at myself'."

Steven muttered an Oh. Yeah, that sounds familiar too. He wished to know who had said that to thank them for putting Steven's thoughts into words —and if possible, ask them how to deal with them.

His mood turned sour. As that quote so effortlessly said, Steven desired more than what he could have. He'd wanted to travel and he'd gotten his wish, but now he misses home terribly. The nights alone are not as bad as the days, where he looks around and see no familiar faces. Yet the idea of going to Beach City and staying for more than half a day gave him reflux (or was it the beer? No, it had to be thinking about home).

And if he went back to Beach City, then what? Everyone at home missed him, sure, he knew that; they said so themselves. But they were also on board with this trip on the basis that Steven was gonna having a great time. Going back and saying 'hey I actually missed you guys' would mean he put on a drama show for nothing. It would mean that he put all his family and friends through emotional distress for nothing. Even worse, it would mean he'd dropped the towel; that he couldn't live by himself.

Steven's hands clenched around the wheel. _Breathe, Steven, breathe._

No way was he going to accept that. Steven wanted… he deserved a life on his own. He'd saved the Universe, and he didn't even got a lousy t-shirt! After everything he'd done for other, why can't he wish for something for himself?

_Because it doesn't feel right_ , that's the answer. Even after months of therapy, there was a basic part of Steven that lived for other people. And he couldn't get rid of that emphatic side of himself without throwing away what made Steven, ' _Steven'_.

This raises the question… Is that what he wants? To be someone, _anyone_ else but Steven? Yes, _yes,_ **yes.**

"But you know, I think the quote is wrong," said Soledad, sheepishly.

"How come?" Steven asked.

"Well, first of all: who even said that? And why? I mean maybe we're squeezing our brains over it and the dude who said it just couldn't decide what toppings he wanted on his pizza." She said with a bit of disappointment.

"I don't know. It sounded like a very trans-like quote…"

"I don't mean that part, I mean the thing being selfish and unselfish."

Steven shifted slightly so he was half looking at her, half at the road.

"I think you can think a certain way about some stuff, and think the opposite way about other, and that's not hypo… hyp… you are not looking at two different roads," she concluded. "You are just shifting roads, but you're still going at the same place. You're still you, but you're not a in a 'white box, black box' system. Take me as an example."

"I don't think I should."

"Haha, you're so funny," Soledad said sarcastically. " _What I mean_ is that I'm still sort of… jumping between my old life and the one I am at right now. I mean, am I a closeted Trans girl from California, or a Trans girl from Virginia?

"Well, you're not in California now."

"Sometimesiam," she rushed to say. "Here, in my head. If that makes sense."

Steven gulped and got somber. He told her it did made sense.

"And it's lonely," Soledad proceeded. "Very lonely, I mean that's why I picked my name in the first place." She stared at him attentively, just like she did when Steven had guessed her name. " _Soledad_. Do you even know what it means?"

"It has something to do with the sun, I know it," Steven said with the edge of one who knows is right, but can't tell why.

"Uh, nope. Not at all."

Her aura made a sharp spike. _Liar_.

"It means 'loneliness'. Cause that's what I feel."

Steven blinked several times. He breathed in and out. He began to recite a mantra in his head. He counted sheep. Finally he gave up and burst in laughter.

"Go ahead, laugh at me, idontcare."

"I'm sorry, I…" Steven cleared his throat and spoke with calm. "That must have been an important decision."

"Not really, I was just super drunk in a bar in Arizona," Soledad turned slightly red. "And I was alone. I'd just escaped home a few days ago when it hit me I was… Alone."

Steven's head started to spin as much as his stomach. It was getting harder to think.

"Sol?" he said.

"Yes Steven?"

"Do you feel alone now?"

Soledad extended her hand, but hesitated before touching Steven's. "Not anymore," she purred.

He was about to ask what she was doing, when a torrent of emotions flowed to him. Joy, acceptance, companionship. A bit of hunger too. And… _want_. It flowed to Steven and, in the same way it had happened before, it initiated a reaction that awakened the same feeling in Steven. The warm flowed back and forth between them, like waves on a beach, growing stronger with each new jump. It was too much.

Steven took his hand off the wheel —and by addition; Soledad's too— like he had just touched a stove. Steven certainly felt hot; his hand, chest, and everything else was burning

"What're you doing?" he said, voice trembling.

Soledad recoiled slightly. "What? Just a little hand touching between friends."

Hand touching… So, she didn't feel Steven's emotions? No, chances were that she had felt something, but she had attributed a non-magical explanation to it; like being in a car, alone, with a boy. A boy who was Steven… And Soledad was a girl. And somehow, all of that didn't hit him until now.

Steven straightened his back and said, firmly. "Well, don't do it again."

"Why?"

"Because…" Steven mumbled a few second because there _was_ a reason he couldn't remember. He got distracted as he pondered about it. He didn't noticed when the Triumph's lights turned right and the Dondai kept going forward.

It should be clear by now that Steven's relationship with his physical body, just like with his gender, was a complex one. For all of his life he'd had powers he couldn't control, and a body whose appearance shifted according to its owner emotions. Things like that don't push you towards self exploration. And ever since his _incident_ , his body had changed so much Steven barely looked himself in the mirror when he left the shower.

He'll never forget a session with Dr. A. in which they touched the subject:

" _This is a delicate question, Steven," she said, soft like a summer breeze, "but how often do you masturbate?"_

Going back to it, _yes_ , Steven had overreacted. Which is why he offered to pay for all the windows and glasses he'd broke. Of course, he'd to write that down, since Dr. A. was temporarily deafened. She didn't got her full hearing back until two weeks later.

That was one uncomfortable moment, but there were many others. One time when he was roughhousing with Connie and realized he was no longer a weak kid and could pin her to the ground. Whenever they napped, hugging, intervened like they did when they were kids, except they weren't anymore. And now, with Soledad.

It's the first time this has happened with someone who wasn't Connie, however, and the concept alone made Steven felt criminal.

"Because I have a girlfriend, that's why," he announced.

"So? I didn't ask you to marry me," Soledad said and didn't notice the light flashing in Steven's eyes. "I just wanted to hold a cute guy's hand."

"Well, you better stop. I don't want… I mean, I don't like you like that," the words came out before he could stop them.

_I sounded mean, but in any case, it's true,_ he told himself. _Come on now, you can't like someone you have known for a few hours while heavily drunk_. Soledad didn't seem to think the same way; her aura shrank in sadness, before bursting in rage.

"Well, whatever, idontlikeyouneither," she said with poison in her voice. She evaded his gaze, arms crossed and huffing. "I just… I mean… I just think you are nice!"

"And you are nice too but-"

"So what if you have a girlfriend?" she said, not dropping the subject. "She's not here right now. What, do you think she is gonna ma-te-ria-lize and give you an earful for holding handswithatransgirl?"

Steven's head made like a whip. "That's _not_ what I meant!" he retorted. He was getting nervous and it was hard to drive in the dark. _Why_ was everything so dark?

"And in any case, why do you like her so much? She is just a girl," Soledad mumbled.

The energy started to flow from Steven's gem. He was one breath away from turning pink because you don't call Connie 'just a girl'.

"She is my Connie," he said, matter-o-factly. "She liked me when I was no-one. She knows me like no-one else."

"She knows you?" Soledad laughed with malice. "YOU don't know yourself and this Miss Childhood-Friend somehow knows you? Yeahright." She scoffed and looked through the window. "And even if it were true, you aren't the same as before, are you? Isn't that why you left? Because you wanted to find yourself? And you have to-you need to face the possibility that when you go back, you are gonna be someone she doesn't like."

"WHY? Why would that-"

"Because that shit happens, Steven! Peoplechange. She's probably changing right now. You are gonna be two completely different people when you meet again."

Steven laughed and laughed. He laughed so hard he could have convinced everyone but himself.

"That's when you are wrong because we talk and see each other all the time," he said, and omitted to mention that Connie used a magical lion to visit him.

"And I'm sure seeing her through the phone square is ohsogreat," Soledad lowered her voice to a hiss. "But answer me this. If she liked you so much, and you like her so much. Why didn't she make this trip with you?"

The car stopped at such a speed the tires groaned and left a several meters long mark on the road. The passengers were pushed forward by the sudden momentum; thank that Stars for the seatbelts, lest they would have know what it is to fly through a window.

"Steven, what-"

" **First of all** ," Steven said in a voice that cracked the air, "you are talking about stuff you know nothing about. Connie knows me; and even if she didn't, she likes me. Just for, for, for existing! And I know her, OK? We have been through the same stuff together. Stuff no-one knows about! And even, even if we weren't together, we would always _be together._ "

"And I do like you," he said and the words felt bitter in his mouth. "I mean I-I think you are great. You are the coolest person I've meet since I leave home. The first one to be nice to me," Steven started to hyperventilate. "And I thought 'hey, it's alright if you are weird Steven. Soledad doesn't care. She is a good friend.' But now, I'm not so sure-"

"I _am_ your friend!" Soledad shouted.

"Then why aren't you acting like **one**!"

The Dondai trembled as Steven's fist hit the steering wheel. Not enough to break it —he'd gained a deeper control of his own strength these last few months— but the noise could have splintered the Earth in half. It did seem to have broken the stereo, as only static came out of it.

Neither of them spoke —and neither took their eyes out of the other. Soledad was… she was afraid, but not scared. It was hard to explain; her aura had this weird flash of wonder. But Steven didn't cared. He could take a lot of things; he was used to it. But you can't trash talk Connie in any way or form, and he was gonna let her know it, goddamit!

So busy he was trying to look though, it took him a while to consider... Was he pink? No, that couldn't be. Bu the way Soledad was staring at him, like he was a monster _..._

No, _no_! In an attack of panic, he looked at himself in the rear mirror. He breathed out; he wasn't pink, his pupils were alright. No, everything was normal; just regular, freakshow Steven. The only thing different was his furious glare; looking at himself was enough to calm Steven down.

He tried to talk to Soledad, made amends, but she would refuse to look at him.

"You don't know me," she said, each word heavy with meaning Steven could perceive, but didn't have the patient to look into.

At that moment, her earlier words came to him _. When you go back, you are gonna be someone she doesn't like._ Yikes, now that's something new to consider. Steven wanted a new life but… how did the people he loved fit in it?

"You're right," he copied her and stared through his side of the window. "And you don't know me."

Everything was quiet in the world; the Dondai was still running but unmoving, as its passenger let the seconds tick by. Their minds filled with their own little worlds —not quite separated, as Steven could feel, but not exactly connected either. Their only company was the sound of the engine running, and the trees surrounding them.

At least Steven thought they were trees…. It was kinda hard to see.

It was dark outside. Really dark, actually. The shadows were so dense you would need a sword to cut through them; looking beyond one meter ahead of you was out of the question. There was no moon either, no street light, no… Steven inspected his surroundings. _There were no lights at all._

"Sol?" Steven said weakly.

Soledad sniffed and tried to show some composure. "What is it?"

"Where is Rain?"

Soledad looked around and lost her composure.

"Oh shit," she said, "OH SHIT!"

"What? What happened?"

She gave him the look of a feral cat in front of a truck. "OK, don't panic," she said, "but I think we lost the exit."

"…WHAT?" shouted Steven, in total panic. "How did that happened?"

"Howshouldiknowit? You're the one holding the wheel."

"Well, uh…" Steven made a list of things to pass the guilt onto. "Well _you_ got me distracted with your talk about Connie."

"ME?! You're the so called Master Driver. You had one job to do, so dontblameitonme, Mister Universe."

Steven opened his mouth to retort, but then he closed it.

_This is taking us nowhere,_ he thought, as he clenched his teeth, his hands and everything in his body that could be clenched.

Soledad breathing slowly calmed down as her aura brightened.

"Oh! I know where we are," she said, flapping her arms. "Rain took me to this road once. It ends on the river."

Steven waited for the punch line of the joke. "You know this car isn't amphi… aqua… It won't float on the water," he said.

She slapped both her cheeks. "Oh my God, wearenotgonnadriveintotheriver, Steven! There is a road that goes alongside the river."

The pieces didn't match in Steven's mind.

"And the river goes _into_ the city? You know, _Death_ _River?_ "

There was silence before… DING!

"We just had to follow the road into the city!" he said.

"Give this man a cookie," said Soledad mockingly.

Steven stirred the shift and the car drove off. He was slightly happier, now that he knew where he was going, but he still felt kinda nauseous.

_Either the beer is getting through me or I made things weird again._ Judging by Soledad's silence and the shame vibrations coming from her, it was the latter. _But come on. She_ did _make me mad... But I didn't have to react like that. I can't control what other people do, but I can control myself._ He found himself repeating Dr. A. phrasing again, but keeping true to it was easier when you weren't intoxicated. Steven was starting to miss being immune to alcohol.

His hand moved through the shifts with ease, and his foot was heavy over the pedal. The speedometer hand made a swift motion right, reaching distances it hasn't before. Soledad was nearly petrified, like a woman between wall and sword.

"Uh, you may want to go easy on the pedal, man," she said, and discreetly did the cross signal.

"It's gonna be fine, don't worry. I'm a master driver," he added, although he was a master driver about to throw up.

The dental floss billboard they passed by didn't helped —Steven didn't want to see the inside of a mouth, real or not! He just wanted to drop Soledad home and crawl back into a hole; never to be seen or spoke again by another person. He'll live in the woods like a hermit and he won't have to deal with nobodies' issues ever again. And nobody would have to deal with him

"Don't worry, everything is fine," Steven insisted. He knew he sounded like a maniac, but he tried to instill calmness in Soledad —and in himself.

That's when he heard the sirens. Blue and red lights filled the Dondai, alternatively. On the rear mirror, Steven saw the police patrol chasing after them.

He crossed sights with Soledad and, in one simple moment of drunken telepathy, their faces expressed the same feeling:

'Oh, give me break.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta dah!
> 
> Boy, really, this chapter was difficult. Too much dialogue, too many issues to cover.
> 
> Thats actually something thats been worrying me: How do you guys like the dialogue? I mean, do you like how it flows? Is it too much, too distracting, too many actions in each line... If you guys would like to leave some feedback, i would really appreciate it, because that's what helps me know if i'm doing things right or no.
> 
> With that said, i hope you guys liked the chapter and had you hoping for the next one. I cant make promises about WHEN i'm going to post it, but i'll do my best to be quick.
> 
> Anyway, as usual, please comment if you liked it! And see you guys next time!


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